


A Million Dreams

by Artfulstar



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Allergic reaction, Allergies, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anniversary, Attempt at Humor, Ballroom Dancing, Birthday, Comfort, Dancing, Dorks in Love, During Canon, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s03e06 Thunderfall, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Free-of-the-coins gang, Hugs, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, In-Laws, Kissing, Married Life, Mistake/Ammends, More Pining, Mutual Pining, Mythology - Freeform, Nightmares, Nightmares/Comfort, One Shot Collection, Original Mythology, Pining, Post-Canon, Pregnancy, Sharing a Bed, Slow Dancing, Stargazing, Travel, birthday bash, chapter six aka my fashion freak instincts kick in, im weak for some fancy dresses, written in the stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 30,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24651958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artfulstar/pseuds/Artfulstar
Summary: A million dreams is all it's gonna takeA million dreams for the world we're gonna makeCollection of the 16 prompts for the Rayllum Birthday Bash 2020. Unconnected stories, read it in any order you'd like.New chapter every other day of July
Relationships: Callum & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 236
Kudos: 268





	1. Anniversary

**Author's Note:**

> My first official Rayllum event! Crazy to think that a year ago I had no idea these two idiots were going to be my reason for living.  
> This event was organized by the incredible [@raayllum](https://raayllum.tumblr.com) (who I’ve had chances of exchanging some messages with and she was always such a wonderful and funny person). She was also the co-writer of the First Rayllum fic I’ve read when I got into the fandom (ah, my old days of reading _[In search of silver linings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17839268/chapters/42093974)_ ). Since then I’ve read so incredibly talented works! And I’ve written some of them myself lol  
> Anyway, this is no time to get mushy. Enjoy the first Rayllum Birthday Bash prompt: **Anniversary**

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ibis overhears an argument between Callum and Rayla

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I wrote this before the pages of the graphic came out, so I was still going by my theory that Rayla was going to stay at the Storm Spire, so this is inconsistent with my other works in this drabble collection since I wrote all of the others _after_ the pages.

** Anniversary **

_“No, Callum. Ya’re wrong!”_

_“How come I’m wrong, Rayla?! I remember it perfectly!”_

_“Well, it seems yer perfect memory is finally failin’ ya.”_

_“It’s not!”_

The argument could be heard from down the last corridor of the Dragonguard corridor.

Which meant, Ibis who was in the middle of his meditation, had heard the two teens arguing. With an exasperated sigh, the Skywing elf got up from the ground and retrieved his staff from the corner of the room, slowly making his way to the young couple room, the shouting becoming clearer and clearer.

Ibis' hand went for the handle of the door but noticed it wasn’t closed, making more sense why the shouting was so clear, so he simply pushed the door open.

He found the two teens inside the room as he expected. The young elf was sitting on the marble chair of the room, a silver comb on her hands as she argued with the young prince. Speaking of him, he was standing in front of her.

They stopped their argument to look at the mage standing in the doorway.

“May I ask what you two are arguing about?”

They clearly weren’t expecting such interruption, their mouths were hanging open, though Ibis didn’t know if it was because they were shocked by his sudden presence or if it was because they were preparing to shout at each other again.

Red in the face, Callum and Rayla looked at each other, not exactly sure of what to do next.

The young prince was the first one to speak up.

“U-Uh, hey Ibis! I thought you were in the middle of meditation or something?” his hand came to scratch his neck as he avoided looking in the eyes of the sky mage.

“Well, I was. Until your screaming made it unbearable to concentrate and I had to see what was happening for myself.”

That statement made the couple’s faces get even redder than pure moonberry juice. They clearly hadn’t realized how loud they were being.

 _Wouldn’t be the first time_ , Ibis thought to himself.

“It’s a silly argument. No need for ya to worry about it.” Rayla tried as she twisted a strand of her hair on her fingers.

“Well, you two already interrupted my meditation, so I want to hear it.” Ibis said and although he had a smile on his face, his voice was firm and severe.

“Well, it’s just…” Callum tried but the words clearly got tangled on their way out. Rayla let out an exasperated sigh and put the brush down on the vanity before turning her body completely to face the older elf.

“Callum and I are arguin' about what was our _real_ first kiss.”

_Oh._

“He’s sayin' that the disaster on the Oasis, that marks a year today, is our first kiss.”

“And Rayla is saying that kiss didn’t count, because we should celebrate tomorrow, the day that marks our first mutual kiss.” Callum scoffed.

“Which is the logical conclusion! Don’t ya want to celebrate the day we _both_ made a move in regards to our relationship?!”

“Are you saying I didn’t have an attitude?!”

“You left my kiss hangin' for a whole day!”

“Because you threatened to kill me if I tried to talk about it!”

They continued their bickering and Ibis let out a sigh before turning around and leaving the room.

He'd know those two for almost a whole year. He knew it was just a matter of time before they just make up things by kissing each other.

When the argument died down just 10 minutes later, he was just glad he remembered closing the door before leaving.

There were things left better behind closed doors, especially when talking about two teenagers in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my greatest piece by far, but I thought I would switch the classic fluff of first kiss anniversary with some bickering because I can.  
> I promise the next pieces will be longer too.  
>  **Next prompt:** Mistake/Amends


	2. Mistake/Amends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla dwells on her losses after the battle, but Callum is there to keep her on her toes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurt/Confort will ensue, beware some crying from Rayla. I wrote all of this while listening to the Your Name soundtrack so I maybe teared up a little too lol

** Mistake/Amends **

“You seem out of it. Something in your mind?” Callum asked as he raked his finger through Rayla’s silky hair. It was the first night after the battle. There were wounded and deaths to count, but they survived. Scratched and traumatized but they were alive. That was the most important part.

Callum’s back was against the headboard of an old queen-sized bed in the old Dragonguard chambers reserved for those who were part of it. He had no idea what time was, but sleep wasn’t coming easily for any of them after such a long day.

Rayla snuggled further into the crook of Callum’s neck and released a breath into his skin that sent goosebumps.

Callum tightened his grip around her waist as a way to say _you’re safe, I’m here for you._ He just hoped that she got the memo.

“I… What are we goin’ to do now?” she finally asked, not bothering to peel away from the warm spot on

“What do you mean?”

“What about our future now? Do ya plan to go back to Katolis?”

“I guess? I mean, maybe I’ll stay around Xadia for a while, learn about the Sky arcanum from Ibis. Then, maybe I’ll go back to Katolis to assist Ezran if he needs me. Or just to stay around him while this crazy new world gets built.”

“That’s nice. I’m sure Ezran will appreciate yer support.” Her voice was… shaky? Did he say something that upset her?

“What about you? What do you plan on doing now?”

Her breathing stiffed and she became hard as a stone in his arms. Now that his jacket was gone, he was able to feel the heat that radiated from her way more easily and believe him when he felt her body temperature drop a few degrees at his words. Now he was definitely concerned.

“I… I don’t know.” Her voice was just as shaky as that day on the Midnight Desert or when she discovered that her entire village and Ethari had ghosted her-

_Oh._

“I can’t go back to Silvergroove. My parents are missin’.” Her voice became barely a whisper when she said the next words: “I have _nowhere_ to go.”

Callum felt a few drops of water hit the skin of his neck as soon as her breath hitched and she started to shake in his arms.

Callum was just glad the other elves and humans left an empty room for them because he definitely didn’t want any of them hearing Rayla cry. He could barely stand it himself.

His fingers started to rake her hair again, lightly scratching her scalp in a way to calm her down and it seemed to work because her sobs eventually died down and they stayed in silence for a few moments.

Finally, Callum took a stand.

“Rayla, why do you say that you have nowhere to go?”

“Because it’s the truth! Silvergrove is out of the question. If my parents weren’t missin’, maybe I could live with them here, but alas they _are_ missin’ because of-” her breath hitched again and she stopped the train of thoughts before changing the subject away from her parents “I don’t see how ya can’t see that I have nowhere left.”

Callum took a deep breath and pulled Rayla away from his neck to look at him. He took a good look at her face. Her eyes were red, her nose stuffy and cheeks were stained with tears.

“Rayla, you’re being stupid.” He said with a chuckle and a smile.

Her mind clearly took some time to process his sentence before her cheeks reddened with embarrassment and a pout took place in her lips. She opened her mouth to reply, but Callum shut her up with a kiss. They melted into each other and the protests were lost in Rayla’s tongue as they pulled away from each other, her cheeks now even redder.

“If you have nowhere to go, then I have nowhere to go either.” He said as he cupped one of her cheeks in his palm and running his thumb across her smooth skin. “rayla, when I said that I loved you, I didn’t just say it to make the flight more majestic and romantic. I meant it. And I still do. And I will mean it for the rest of my life.” He leaned and connected their foreheads together.

“Queen Zubeia can probably lift the Ghosting from Silvergroove. You saved her son after all. Maybe she will let you live here. But if you’re not interested in any of that,” he fetched her hands and interlocked his with hers. He was glad he had taken his fingerless gloves before going to bed. It felt incredible to feel the touch of her hand completely, “I wouldn’t mind you moving in with me to Katolis.” He said it and felt some heat radiating from his own cheeks, “I can introduce you to all the castle staff. Maybe take you to a stroll across the castle gardens. Show you all the cool fairy tale books I used to read as a kid. Maybe Opeli will even let us share a room so we never feel alone.”

Rayla’s brain was still processing all of his words.

“Are ya serious? About all of that?” She asked and Callum almost felt offended that she would think that he was joking about that, but he could never get mad at Rayla. _Never._

“I am.”

“It’s just… What are yer people goin’ to say when ya show up at home with an elf as yer girlfriend?”

“You think I care about that?” He chuckled “Rayla, your happiness is what’s important here. And if facing some angry people is what it takes to get you to a happy and comfortable place, I’m willing to face them as they come.” He smiled and kissed her knuckles.

“Ya’re sure about that?”

“When it comes to you, I’ve never been more sure in my life.”

Rayla closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath before her lips curved into a smile that warmed his entire body.

“All right. I’ll go with ya. No matter where.”

Callum’s face split into a smile and he took both sides of her face into his hands and brought their lips together into a passionate and slow kiss. Rayla’s hands trailed up his arms and finally took place on his shoulders, giving her support.

Soon, they pulled apart, faces flushed, the dim light from the oil lamp on the bedside table making her somehow look even more beautiful than any goddess or princess that existed, exists, or will ever exist. _And she was his._

“I love you, Rayla.” Callum said and _God,_ it felt incredible to say it without any fears of unrequited love.

“I love ya, Callum. So much…” She said breathlessly before diving for another kiss.

Yeah. They were going to be okay. They had each other after all. That was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These prompts were kinda hard to think about, but I'm glad I was able to write them!  
>  **Next Prompt:** Travel


	3. Travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missing scenes from the journey from the edge of the Midnight Desert to the Storm Spire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve always wanted to write some missing Rayllum goodness set in between the travel days to the Spire and this prompt is perfect for it!

** Travel **

Callum stared at the path the Embler took back into the desert. Rayla was rummaging through their bags in search of some food for Zym who was running around the bushes.

“Aha!” she said and took out a round fruit that resembled an orange but it almost shone under the morning sun. “Zym!” The girl called for the dragon, whose head perked up at the sound of his name and came flying towards her “Here, eat this. It’s a sun-kissed fruit, very healthy for babies growin’ up. Just like ya.” She said with a chuckle and scratched the baby dragon under the chin as he ate the food contentedly.

Callum stared at the girl with a grin. The last couple of days had been a total wreck, so it was nice to see Rayla smiling just like she did after their kiss last night.

_Wow. They kissed, huh?_

Last night still felt like such a fever dream. He had found the guts to kiss Rayla and she kissed him back! Even after she threatened to kill him.

But what now? They still had a day ahead of them before the Storm spire even came into view. Which meant more time alone with Rayla.

His face started to get hot just by the thought of spending his time with her now that they both had kissed a lot.

“Hey, sad prince!”

Rayla’s voice made his thoughts stop. She had a smile on her lips and a faint blush on her cheeks.

“We have a lot of ground to cover before we can settle in for the night.” She walked over to the Shadowpaw and jumped on its saddle, adjusting it and taking the reins as Zym settled in front of her. She smiled at the dragon before offering her hand to the prince and rolled her eyes playfully “If ya are done starin’ at me, can we go?”

His face was still red when he took her hand and settled behind her. And it definitely got redder when he wrapped his arms around her waist and settled his chin on her shoulder as they rode into the forest.

* * *

The sun was on its zenith in the sky. It was lunchtime, but Callum wasn’t going to ask Rayla to stop for a break. The sooner they got to the spire, the better.

So of course, his stomach decides to betray him by growling loudly. Maybe he could hide his face in the middle of all the magic dirt of Xadia. That would be a good death for him.

“Are ya hungry?” Rayla asked, casting a small glance in his direction and subtly asked for the Shadowpaw to slow down.

“No! I mean, I am, but we don’t need to stop for lunch. I know we’re close to the Spire and we need to get there as soon as possible.”

“Nonsense. We’re not makin’ to the Spire tonight anyway, so a lunch break is nothin’. I have to admit I’m a little hungry too. I haven’t eaten properly since the dawn of yesterday.” Rayla chuckled lightly and pulled on the reins to ask the mount to stop, which it did.

They sat on the grass near a clearing and took out some of the fruits they had been saving for the last few days.

Rayla pulled one of her blades and perfectly peeled another sun-kissed fruit and ate it, a few drops of the juice dripping down her chin.

Instinctively, Callum’s hands came to tug her chin and he cleaned the drops with his fingers.

“There, all clean.” He said with a smile. Rayla’s entire face flushed at his act, but she didn’t pull away either. It took a few moments to Callum’s brain to process the intimacy of the act and his face flushed too, though his hand stayed on her chin and they stared into each other’s eyes.

His stomach was full of butterflies now. They had been closer than this last night, so why was this such a big deal? There were no unspoken feelings between them now, so why was closing the distance between them so _hard?_

Rayla rolled her eyes playfully again in annoyance and pecked his lips for a second, breaking the tension completely.

“We don’t have to make this weird, alright? I don’t wanna lose what we accomplished.”

“Me neither.”

“Then let’s take things at our pace and… communicate our feelings. No barriers.” She said and lightly brushed his cheek.

“Well,” Callum started, his cheeks getting even redder, “if we’re communicating our feelings right now, I would really like to kiss you right no-”

Rayla didn’t wait for him to end his sentence and tugged him by his scarf to crash their lips together and he could taste the remainings of the citric juice on her lips.

The kiss was messy and their noses bumped more than once, but that was okay. They had time to perfect that.

They pulled away, breathless.

“Wow…” he breathed out and he was sure he had a lovestruck grin.

Rayla smiled and bopped his nose with a laugh and took his hand off her chin and putting a few inches of distance between them.

“Eat yer food, Callum. We don’t want ya fallin’ off the Shadowpaw due lack of energy and food.”

“It would be bad, after all, I already fell for you.” He said without thinking and felt his entire body flare-up. He definitely didn’t mean to say that. _Fudge, fudge, fuc-_

“Wow, that was smooth like butter, Callum. Never thought ya had it in ya the ability to flirt.” She smirked and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

_Yeah, he could get used to that._

* * *

The night finally came and they settled in a cave a couple of kilometers away from the Spire. Rayla said that when morning came, they would be able to see the spire piercing the clouds from where they were standing.

The moon was almost full. If he was correct, there were three nights left until it became fully visible in the sky. And if everything went accordingly, they both would be up the Spire when that happened. Maybe Rayla would show him some cool Moonshadow powers. Or they could just look at the sky under the moonlight and enjoy its brightness. Either way, it would be a great time for them.

Rayla started the fire in the middle of the cavern and sat close to it. Callum had his sketchbook open on his lap. His mind was running a mile per hour. He could draw Zym chasing the shiny bugs he found when they stopped for lunch. Or just sketch what he thought the Spire would look like.

But all that came into his mind was the elf sitting a few feet from him.

He started sketching her beautiful face putting some more effort to make her lips and eyes just as perfect as the real thing.

But when talking about Rayla, it seemed like he would never be able to draw her just right.

“Is somethin’ on my face?” She asked, clearly confused “Ya are starin’ at me again.”

“Oh, it’s just…” _Then let’s take things at our pace and… communicate our feelings. No barriers._ “I was just drawing you. There’s nothing on your face, don’t worry.”

“Can I see?” She asked, her cheeks red, “The drawin’.” She pointed her index finger at his lap.

With a nod, he patted the spot beside him and she immediately sat on the spot.

“Ya never cease to amaze me.” Her fingers traced the page and she had a smile on her face. She snuggled further into his side and he threw an arm around her, pulling her even closer.

“I could say the same to you.” He said, his voice barely above a whisper.

He barely registered the time pass as they snuggled together near the fire.

Words weren’t necessary so they stayed there in silence as Callum hoped the next nights of his life would be filled with _her_ and _her only._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the fluff, the yearning! I hope you all liked this! See ya around!  
>  **Next Prompt:** Baking/Cooking


	4. Baking/Cooking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum prepares a dinner date for Rayla, but things don’t end as they expected…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **NO, IT’S NOT ANGST**  
>  This is set a few months after the battle of the spire, Rayla is living in the castle of Katolis as its hinted with Through the Moon.  
> Also, this could go for the date prompt, but that one is special and doesn’t involve food

** Baking/Cooking **

“Can ya just tell me where we’re goin’, Callum?” Rayla asked with a giggle. She was blindfolded and depending only on Callum as he led her by the hand.

“And ruin the surprise? Never!” He said with a laugh.

Rayla was pretty good with the other senses and if she wanted, she would be able to tell where they were headed, but she had to admit that she wasn’t trying. Her boyfriend was cute when he was excited to show her something.

“Okay. We’re here!” He said as they stopped. Rayla felt the hard ground under her feet but she could still hear and feel the faint breeze, so they were outside. Her nostrils also picked up a different scent.

Callum released her hand and came up behind to untie her blindfold.

“Close your eyes okay? And don’t open them until I say so.” She obeyed, rolling her eyes fondly under the lids.

She felt the blindfold fall off her eyes and he retrieved it, then she heard him take some steps and mutter _Aspiro_ a few feet away from her. She then heard some dangling sounds.

“Okay, you can open it… now!”

She wasn’t prepared for what she saw next. They were in the royal gardens, more specifically on the gazebo. In the middle of it, there was a round table with two chairs. On top of it, there was a plate with a dish on it. The ceiling of the gazebo was decorated with glowing crystals of several different colors that were swaying around and producing a calming sound now due to the wind spell that Callum did.

“Wow..” She breathed out in awe “Ya did this for me?”

“You say this as if I wasn’t romantic!” He put one hand on his hip and pouted, even though Rayla knew it was an act. She smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the lips. Short but sweet.

“It’s perfect, just like every single date we have.”

“I have to spoil you in some way.” He took her hand and led her to the table and they sat on the chairs, facing each other.

“Did ya cook this?” she asked, eyeing the dish in front of her. It was very colorful.

“I did have some help from Barius and some of the royal chefs, but yeah, I did most of the cooking.” He sounded proud of himself.

“Well, it does look good… but yer attempt of makin’ a birthday cake for yer aunt also looked good but…”

“Can we not talk about that day?” His cheeks were red and he had a pout on his lips “Aunt Amaya still teases me. And I’m sure she told Queen Janai too.”

“They _are_ spendin’ a lot of time together in Lux Aurea, so yeah. Ya’re probably the inside joke between them.” He scoffed and Rayla chuckled.

“Well, jokes on you! Barius tasted it and told me it was great! So I am very confident!” He closed his eyes and stuffed his chest with pride and Rayla laughed.

“Well, let’s dig in, kitchen mage.” She said.

Callum poured a glass of moonberry juice for both of them and they toasted before diving in for the dish.

When she put the dish on her mouth, it was crunchy and spicy, burning her mouth a little, but nonetheless was very good.

“Gotta say, this is really good Callum! What’s the name of this?”

“It’s called couscous with shrimp! It’s a dish from Duren and it was one of my dad’s favorites, so the castle chefs know how to do it by heart.” His face softened when he mentioned the late King. Rayla smiled softly at him and reached for one of his hands, squeezing it lightly.

“Thank ya for sharin’ it with me. And for everythin’ else too. I couldn’t have asked for a better boyfriend than ya.”

Callum smiled and they leaned in for a kiss across the table.

Their lips were almost touching when Rayla felt a burning sensation on her eyes, making her groan and tear up.

“What in the bloody hell?!” She said and felt some coughing coming her way too. Her skin also started to tingle and she suddenly had an urge to scratch it.

“Rayla?! W-What’s wrong?” He got up from his chair and grabbed her arms.

“I have no idea-” She started coughing. “Why do I feel the need to scratch my face off?!”

Rayla noticed Callum’s eyes widening and his mouth going agape.

“We’re taking you to the royal infirmary.” Rayla tried to argue but another couching fit interrupted her. Without ceremony, he scooped her up and carried her bridal style out of the gazebo.

* * *

“Prince Callum?”

His head shot up at the mention of his name.

The royal doctor, Edina, was standing on the doorframe that led to the room Rayla was resting.

“Is Rayla okay?”

“Yes, she just had an allergic reaction to shellfish. I’m just glad the medicine I had worked on elves well enough to stop the more serious reactions.” Callum released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding “Her skin will be like that for the next few days, unfortunately.” 

“Can I see her now?”

“Of course. If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to call me.” She got out of the way to the room and Callum entered it without hesitation.

Rayla was laying on the bed, under the red Katolian covers. Her usual pale lilac skin was covered in red spots and marks.

“Callum!” Her voice was hoarse and weak and it just made him feel worse about his mistake. “What happened to me? The doctor didn’t give me the details.”

“Apparently you had an allergic reaction to the shellfish.” He took one of the chairs that were on the corner of the room and put it beside the bed “I never asked if you had any allergies, I’m sorry.”

“Well, I didn’t know I had any allergies until today, so it’s not really yer fault”

“Wait, you’ve never had shellfish before?”

“Runaan was a vegetarian. He wasn’t comfortable with eatin’ things that were once alive, so Ethari never went out of his way to buy some fancy fish or sea things.” She explained and scratched her neck. “Gosh, I look awful, don’t I?”

“What?”

“The doctor mentioned somethin’ about my face bein’ covered in red spots, so it must look bad.” She admitted and avoided looking at him.

“Oh Rayla…” his eyes softened and he caressed the side of her face, “You’re still just as beautiful to me, no need to worry about that. The important thing is that you’re okay now.”

“Yeah, but I must look like an elf with the moonberry infection right now and trust me, I’ve had that once and it’s not pretty.”

“What is the _moonberry infection?”_ he asked as his brow shot up.

“Well, if an elf, mostly children, spends too much time playin’ outside, they can get this virus who makes a lot of red spots of the same color as a moonberry appear on their skin.” She started explaining, “Runaan and I spent a lot of time outside trainin’ so no wonder I got it when I was 9.” She smiled at the memory of her late father.

“That sounds an awful lot like Chicken Pox.” Callum said

“What does a chicken have to do with a kid getting’ red spots on their skin?”

“I don’t actually know, but Ez caught it a few years ago. Soren did too, so I guess I was lucky to not have caught it.”

“Or ya just didn’t leave yer room to get the virus.” She bopped his nose playfully and smiled, already feeling the mood lift. He chuckled and held her hand before bringing her knuckles to his lips.

Rayla smile deviously and pulled him to the bed, trapping him on her hug. He smiled back and hugged her too.

“I am sad though. The food was amazin’, even though it almost killed me.”

“I promise, no more shellfish on our future dinner dates.” He said between his chuckles.

“I will hold ya to that.” She chuckled too and smiled down at him, the soft one she reserved to moments like these when she was finally allowed to be vulnerable.

Callum tucked a strand of her hair behind her pointed ear and felt her shiver under his touch.

“Can we finish that kiss from earlier?” She asked, cupping his cheek.

“Definitely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s not the usual prompt of them cooking together, but it involves Callum making food for the love of his life so yeah I’m still writing this right, don’t @ me.  
>  **Next Prompt:** Nightmares/Comfort


	5. Nightmares/Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s hard being young, it’s hard being traumatized. It’s even harder to be young _and_ traumatized. Rayla knows that well enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand the hurt/comfort returns. I mean… What did you expect?  
> Warning: this has spoilers for the leaked pages of the Graphic Novel so read in your discretion or go to the next day, I totally get it!  
> If you’re still here: enjoy it!

** Nightmares/Confort **

Rayla’s steps were everything she could hear as they echoed into the Dragon Queen’s chamber. The air was freezing and she could swear every time she opened her mouth, a cloud of white smoke left her mouth.

She noticed two blocks of ice, probably created by _Aspiro Frigis_ and she felt her face pale.

She also noticed how they seemed to have something, or rather, _someone_ inside.

She carefully approached one of them, swiping her hand through its surface.

The young elf’s heart seemed to stop.

_Runaan._

Her foster father was trapped inside the crystal, hands over his chest as if he was laying in a coffin.

_Wait, if Runaan was in one of these, then the other one-_

Her body didn’t let her mind finish the train of thought and she ran to the next of them, a slightly bigger one.

Her hand swiped through the surface and her suspicions were confirmed.

_Lain and Tiadrin._

Her biological parents were inside the ice too and had the same coffin-pose that Runaan had. She wanted to scream and punch the hell out of whoever did this. Though she had no suspicions of who it was…

 _“Do you like my collection, Rayla?”_ That wicked _motherfucker-_

She turned to face him. Viren had a wicked smile on his face that made Rayla want to throw up.

He was wearing his white garb, the Katolian crown for the king in his head. His scleras and irises were completely black and his skin was and his skin was a pale grey, with purple-grey markings formed around his eyes, as well as partially appearing across his face. On one of his hands, he had his staff that he used for sucking the magic out of Xadian creatures.

The true form of a dark mage she was always told when growing up: cruel, bitter, and lifeless.

“Do you think Prince Callum would make a good new specimen for my collection? Or perhaps I should corrupt him, making him my apprentice.” Rayla felt her blood boil and the adrenaline rush through her veins.

“ _DON’T YOU DARE GET NEAR HIM!_ ” Rayla screamed, taking her butterfly blades out and taking her usual fighting stance.

“Oh sweet, sweet Rayla. You have nothing to worry about.” He raised his staff over his head before continuing his show “I’m a great teacher after all.”

He smashed his staff on the cold hard ground of the chamber and Rayla heard a clap of loud thunder.

Everything went black for several moments. She was the only one in a dark and freezing dragon chamber. She wasn’t even sure she was _still_ on the chamber. The temperature was quickly falling and Rayla felt her fingers and toes aching due the cold.

Suddenly a light appeared in front of her and Callum was standing there, his back turned to her.

“Callum?” No answer, “Callum! Please!”

He turned to look at her and his eyes were devoid of any warmth, something she never saw, not even when they first meet and he thought she was a bloodthirsty monster.

“Hello, Rayla.” His voice was cold and the pitch of it was lower that sent shivers down her spine.

It would be extremely attractive if he wasn’t being so cold with her.

“Callum, what’s wrong with ya?” She tried to take a step forward but felt her feet frozen on the spot. She looked down and saw that her feet were rapidly being trapped in ice.

“Nothing is wrong.” He shrugged his shoulders, with a sly smirk on his lips and he approached her, his hands behind his back that reminded her of the former Royal Dark Mage. The thought of comparing her sweet and kind Callum to the monster that Viren was made Rayla want to die, but she couldn’t help it.

His hand came from behind his back and he grabbed her chin, digging his short nails into her flesh. She tried to slap his hand away, but the ice reached her arms, trapping her completely.

Callum laughed wickedly at her and she felt her eyes widening and all the blood from her face disappearing.

“You are beautiful Rayla. Such a shame that such a pretty face will be used in dark magic.”

“W-What? Callum, ya don’t need dark magic! Ya know how to use the Sky Arcanum!” she tried to argue back and fight back some tears.

“But I want more. And only dark magic can bring me that.”

Another loud thunder was heard as he brought both of his hands to her face.

“Callum, p-plea-” she tried to talk but the cold reached her lungs and made her groan in pain as if several splinters perforated her chest mercilessly.

“Goodbye, Rayla.” For a moment she saw Callum’s perfect skin turn just like Viren's when he was in his true form.

A loud thunder was heard again and everything went black.

* * *

Callum was up late again. Rayla had been living in the castle for the last 2 weeks and tonight was the first night they were sleeping in the same room, though in separate beds. That was Opeli's condition.

He was sitting on his own bed, his back against the headboard and his sketchbook balanced on his knee. His charcoal was twirling around his fingers as he searched for some inspiration, the main reason he was still up.

Also because there was a summer storm just outside his window and since he connected to the Sky arcanum, he wasn't able to sleep through them. He could feel every time the lightning struck, every time the thunder resonated throughout the sky and he felt relaxed every time the drops of water hit the glass panel right above his bed.

After some time thinking about it, he always thought storms and hurricanes were fascinating when growing up. His mom was always impressed by how he wasn’t afraid of them, only getting startled the sound but never fearing it.

Now that he was connected to the primal, he could see why that happened. He _always_ had a connection to the sky.

The charcoal twirled faster as he felt another thunder coming. He looked out the window and saw the clouds flash and right after a thunder that echoed through the silent room.

He looked at Rayla. Her face was scrunched up and she seemed to be dreaming about something by the way her legs were moving without care. _Gods, she was adorable._

He turned his attention back to the page and went back to try to find inspiration.

He started sketching the dark sky he could see out of his window but stopped when he heard Rayla.

“Callum…” she mumbled in her sleep. It wouldn't be the first time she mumbled his name in her sleep, usually, it meant she was dreaming of him which made him dreaming of her way less creepy.

But there was something else in her voice. It seemed like she was in pain which immediately made Callum worry.

“Callum, p-plea-” she tried but a sob cut her voice and he immediately felt his heart racing and his eyes widened.

He put his sketchbook down immediately and raced to her side, brushing her beautiful hair out of her face so he could look at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her mouth was agape as she took labored breaths.

“Rayla” he tried calling her name but no avail she was still fast asleep. His hands traveled to her shoulders and he lightly shook her. “Rayla please, wake up!”

Another loud thunder was heard and Rayla’s eyes snapped open. Her eyes widened when she saw Callum in front of her and she scrambled to get away from him.

“ _Get away from me!_ ” she screamed and curled into a shaking ball. Callum instantly took a step back and watched her sob for a few moments.

“Ray, look at me.” Callum sat beside her as she curled into the ball and as gently as he could, he grabbed hands and gave them light kisses. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m here for you.” He repeated the words like a mantra as Rayla continued her sobbing. “I love you. This is going to end. Take deep breaths.” He tried to remember the words his mom would say to him when he was the one in distress and having a panic attack.

As Rayla’s shaking faded, his touch got even more loving, ending with him hugging his girlfriend as she cried onto his shoulder, wetting his nightshirt. Her hands were grabbing the fabric fiercely as if her life depended on it. Maybe it did.

Eventually, her sobs died down, but she still had her head tucked on his shoulder as he whispered reassurings to her ear.

“Callum… I h-had this nightmare t-that made me… I’m sorry I got angry at ya-” another sob cut through her sentence and Callum thought his heart was going to die. He hated hearing or seeing her cry.

“Don’t worry about me. My feelings are unharmed.” He chuckled, taking his fingers through her hair. “Is there anything that you want? Water or something to eat?”

She took another deep breath that ghosted to his neck and turned to look at him, a blush dusting her wet cheeks.

“Callum, can ya sleep… here? With me?” Her voice was barely above a whisper when she asked that.

He didn’t know how to answer that. On one hand, if Opeli found out they slept on the same bed, they would be back to sleeping on different rooms, even though nothing _sandwichy_ had happened. On the other, Rayla was clearly in distress after having a nightmare and a panic attack. She needed this reassurance that only he could provide.

 _Sorry Opeli_ , Callum thought.

“Of course. I’ll be here with you if you need me.”

She smiled at him and snuggled against the crook of his neck. Carefully, he laid down on the soft mattress, Rayla on top of his chest. His arms snaked around her waist, securing her in his arms and he watched the drops of rain hit the window. The storm was still continuing with full strength out there so he wouldn’t be sleeping so easily, but if Rayla was getting her much-needed sleep, he was happy.

* * *

“Callum, are ya still awake?” Rayla asked shyly.

“Yep. You know I can’t sleep easily during thunderstorms.”

“I… I wanted to talk about my nightmare.”

“Rayla you don’t need to do this.” Callum tried but Rayla shook her head from where it was against his neck.

“But I want to. Just… Just hear me out.” She took a deep breath. “I was in a weird dark place and ya were there. But it wasn’t really ya. It was a more disturbin’, cruel version of ya. He… He said things about dark magic that made me want to throw up. He said that I was goin’ to be used for a spell and it made me so scared-” Her voice was beginning to shake involuntarily.

“Rayla, I’m so sorry that you dreamt about that.” He kissed her temple. “But I’m happy that you know that I’m not like that. I would never do dark magic again and I will never hurt you.” _Never._

“I know that.” She pulled away from his chest to look at him in the eye. Her eyes were glazed with sorrow “I should be stronger, don’t let myself get carried away because of these stupid nightmares.”

“Rayla, you _are_ strong” he cradled her cheek into his palm and she nuzzled into it “You’re the strongest person I know, and the fact that you have nightmares does not invalidate your strength. You’re only fifteen and you’ve seen so much shit happen in your life, you’ve fought in a war that lasted almost a thousand years! No one can deny you’re strong and if they do, they don’t deserve your time at all.”

Rayla felt her eyes fill with tears though they were of happiness.

She leaned their foreheads together and gazed into his emerald eyes.

“Thank ya, Callum. I love ya so, so, so much.”

“I love you too.” He closed his eyes and kissed her slowly. They pulled away sooner than they wanted, but the sleepiness was starting to get to them.

Rayla tucked her head against his chest again and soon her breathing evened out.

Callum smiled and kissed the top of her head right between her horns.

“Goodnight, Rayla.” He said softly and closed his eyes.

For the first time since he connected to his arcanum, Callum was able to sleep peacefully through a thunderstorm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The largest chapter so far! I'm not one to write angst but I hope I did justice!  
>  **Next Prompt:** Dancing


	6. Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Xadian diplomats and leaders on their way to Katolis, Rayla has to face her mortal enemy: dresses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I’m a fashion freak, especially pretty and fancy dresses so I had a ton of fun deciding Rayla’s dress and everyone else’s outfit. At the endnotes, I’ll provide visual references to some of the outfits!  
> Also, [ this is the song used during the dance.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv6nJTB34GQ) Don’t know if it will be of any use, but if you want to have the complete experience, listen to it when the time comes.

** Dancing **

“Lady Rayla?”

Rayla almost wanted to groan. She turned to face Opeli, who was standing on the doorframe of the bedroom that Rayla and Callum shared. The second bed had disappeared months ago when Callum and Rayla were caught cuddling by Ezran, who demanded to have the other bed refused if they weren’t going to use it. Opeli didn’t argue with the king, though it was clear she wasn’t comfortable with such a decision.

“How many times do I have to tell ya, Opeli. No need for this _lady thin’._ Call me Rayla. That’s enough.” Opeli brought a hand to her forehead but didn’t comment any further. Just then, Rayla noticed at least five castle maids behind the high-council woman. “What are they doin’ here?”

“They’re here to prepare you for the ball of tonight.”

“Uh, I don’t need help. I’m just goin’ to use my usual outfit and call it a day.” Rayla shrugged her shoulders.

“Not happening, I’m afraid. This is the first ball that Xadian leaders and diplomats will be among the leaders of the five kingdoms of the eastern side. It’s a big night.”

“Who exactly is comin’?”

“From the eastern side, we have Queen Aanya from Duren, King Apollo from Evenere, King Ahling from Neolandia, and Lady Dina from Del Bar.” Opeli said. Rayla never met any of them except Queen Aanya, since she was the only one to stand beside the Xadian side when they fought in the battle of the storm spire. She was a polite, respectful, and extremely wise for her young age of only twelve.

“And what about the Xadian side?”

“From the Earthbloods, King Gale and his sister, Princess Lorelei are coming together. Queen Janai is bringing the royal Sunfire translator. The Tidebound elves are sending a member of their high council. Some Sky mages are coming as a request from the dragon queen.”

“And for the Moonshadow elves?” Rayla was afraid of the answer but she needed it.

“Part of the high-council of your former village is coming. As well as your foster father, Ethari was it?” Rayla nodded and her head was already spinning. The high-council of Silvergroove was extremely reluctant to give up her ghosting the ghosting of her parents, but the fact that the Dragon Queen herself demanded it, they weren’t able to refuse it. Didn’t mean that they approved her there, but Rayla couldn’t care less. She was happy living in the castle. She had a family of her own now.

Opeli snapped her fingers at the castle maids and they entered the room. One of the maids had a hairbrush in her hand and several bobby pins. Another one had some boxes with the word “shoes” written on them. The third and fourth were carrying a golden rack of several long dresses of various colors. The final one had a box that was labeled “Jewelry” on it.

“Let us begin.” Opeli said and Rayla gulped. She was trapped, no way of escaping. “And please, Lady Rayla, don’t make this more difficult than already is.”

* * *

“You clean up nicely, Callum.” Ezran commented when they met in the corridor. Callum chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

He was wearing a long-sleeved version of his usual Katolis tunic, very similar to the one King Harrow always wore. On top of it, he had a dark blue sleeveless vest with a leather belt and a golden buckle that kept both of the two different clothing parts together. His scarf was gone, being replaced by a long red cape that draped from around his neck, being secured by a golden pin with the symbol of the kingdom engraved on it. His pants were a darker black and his boots were the same color, except for some golden details.

“It’s a big day for the history of our world, Ez. I won’t dress like a clown.” Ezran smiled. The king was wearing his golden crown and had a similar outfit to Callum, except for the blue vest and cape.

“Have you seen Rayla yet?” Callum asked as they headed down the stairs that would lead to the grand hall where the party was going to happen.

“Uh, I saw her this afternoon when she was heading back to her bedroom, so it’s been a while.” Callum looked out of the big windows and the sun was already set on the horizon and the sky was a mix of blues and oranges. “Though, I think she’s with Opeli.”

“Why?”

“Opeli told me she was going to get Rayla prepared for tonight, so I think that’s where she is now, torturing Rayla into wearing a dress.” Callum chuckled.

“If Opeli does indeed get Rayla into a dress, please give her the highest chair in the council. That’s not an easy task.”

“If I promote her any further, she’ll end up getting my place.” Ezran laughed and they arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey!” A feminine voice was heard behind them as they passed through the shiny linoleum floor. They turned around and found themselves being hugged by someone.

“Hey, Ellis!” Ezran said still being hugged by the girl. “Nice to see you again.”

The girl giggled and released both of them. She hadn’t really changed since the last time they saw her.

She had grown a couple of inches, now the same height as Ezran’s fluffy hair. Her hair was significantly longer and was cascading down her back with a small braid that ended in a small bun on the back of her head. She was wearing a beige dress that ended on her knees and it had a flowy fabric over it. The top part had a lace fabric of the same color sewed on it and had a slight sweetheart neckline with thin straps over her shoulders leaving them bare. She had golden sandals on her small feet and a golden locket with a moon symbol and some moonstones, probably a gift from Lujanne.

“It’s been a while!” Callum said with a smile, “Where is Ava?”

“Oh, I think she’s chasing some fireflies on the royal garden! She seems to be having fun there!”

“Are you having fun?” Ezran asked.

“Oh yeah! I was just talking to this girl! She’s blonde, has a tanned skin and dresses very highly! Also, she doesn’t seem to understand what _Hide and Seek_ is. I mean, what kind of kid doesn’t know what hide and seek is?”

“Wait, are you talking about Queen Aanya?” Callum asked back.

“Yeah, I think that’s her name. Why do you ask?”

“Well, Queen Aanya is a child monarch so…”

“So is Ez, but he knows what hide and seek is.”

“But Queen Aanya was raised since a baby to be a Queen and she didn’t exactly have the same kind of childhood Ez had.” Ellis put her hand on her chin and seemed to be deep in thought for a few seconds before her face lit up and she grabbed Ezran’s hand.

“C’mon Ez! We’re taking Aanya to play hide and seek with us and Ava!” They skipped away together across the floor in the direction where Aanya was standing with a few humans.

Callum smiled. Queen Aanya could use some friends of her age.

* * *

“It’s good to see you, Queen Janai.” Callum said when he found the Sunfire Queen on the buffet table.

She was wearing a golden dress that was sleeveless and had a jewel neckline. The golden fabric was layered until it reached her feet. The back was open, being held by a golden ring in the middle of it. The regal look was completed by shoulder capes. Some of her dreadlocks were up in a bun on the top of her head while others were hanging loosely and she was wearing a circlet with a sun pendant in the middle of her forehead. On her feet that were barely visible because of the dress, she was wearing golden high heels.

“Prince Callum,” She politely said, making the usual Sunfire Salute with her hands. “It is also delightful to see you once again, how are y-”

She wasn’t able to finish her sentence as she was tackled by a hug. It was hard to sneak up on the former golden knight, so even though he wasn’t able to recognize the person immediately, he knew who it was.

“A-Amaya!” Janai said breathlessly.

Callum’s aunt had a smug smile on her face. She had recently cut her hair into a sidecut and a pixie cut that suited her. She was wearing a red shirt that was slightly unbuttoned and a sun brooch holding it. She was wearing dark-grey pants and high boots with golden details. She was wearing a side cape that almost matched Janai’s dress. She took her hands from around Janai and signed.

 _“Look who’s here! Fancy looking as always!”_ She signed and a short elf with glasses that was standing beside Janai translated immediately.

“Thank you, Amaya. I like your hair and well-” Janai was blushing heavily, which by the way his aunt couldn’t stop smirking, she had a very good comeback to the queen.

 _“Thank you, Janai. I really like your dress, such a shame that it hides your cute-_ I’m not translating that.” The other elf was red from embarrassment and had their back away from the two women. Callum was red too, he knew Katolis Sign Language which meant he knew exactly what his aunt had just signed to the Queen of the Sunfire Elves.

“Uh, I’ll be taking my leave if you two don’t mind.”

* * *

The moon was already on the sky but no sign of Rayla, which made Callum worried about what kind of things Opeli was putting her through.

He was just done talking with Ibis, Princess Lorelei, and Ethari when he saw Opeli in the corner of his eye. If she was here, it would surely mean Rayla was free of her and the castle maids.

“Excuse me, I need to talk to someone. Enjoy the party.” He bowed at them and took his leave to go to Opeli.

She noticed him first and bowed at him, just like she always did.

“Opeli, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Prince Callum, what do you need me for?”

“Where is Rayla? Haven’t seen her all night.”

“The castle maids must be done with her by now. She was… a challenge.” Callum noticed how Opeli looked almost tired. He wasn’t sure who had it worse. Rayla, her or the castle maids.

“You think she’s here yet?”

“Not really. I believe she’s avoiding the party as much as possible.”

“Thank you.” Callum turned away as Opeli bowed to him again.

* * *

Callum was just about to enter the corridor that leads to the throne room when he heard someone talking to themselves. And they seemed to be very angry.

“ _HOW IN GARLATH’S ASS AM I SUPPOSED TO FIGHT USIN’ THIS? AND THESE SHOES?”_ Yep, it was Rayla. Callum chuckled to himself but felt slightly bad to hear his girlfriend complain.

With a confident smile on his face, he turned the corner and found Rayla there just as he expected. His smile fell and his heart started to pump more blood to his face.

Rayla had her white moonlight hair had two braids on the side of her head that ended into a ponytail that was tied tightly on the back of her head. She had a silver circlet on her head that had a crescent moon in the middle, a moonstone, and a diamond. The shoes she was complaining were white high-heels with pearls that hung around her ankle. The dress was the most impressive part though. It was a violet-grey dress that ended on the floor. The fabric seemed to be extremely fragile and flowy. Some flowers and leaves patterns were sewed with silver threads into the fabric, spreading down the skirt and going up to the top part. Speaking of it, it had a sweetheart neckline, but a translucent violet fabric created a boat neckline. The fabric extended to her arms into three-quarter sleeves that were slightly tight. The back of the dress was slightly open for at least half of it, leaving just enough skin to make his heart race several miles a minute.

Rayla was beautiful every day, but tonight, she looked absolutely stunning.

“Banther got yer tongue, mage?” She asked her annoyance because of the dress quickly disappearing when she saw the effect it had on him. Callum shook his head and tried to come up with some kind of comeback to her quirky remark but every time he opened his mouth to say something, the fact that this gorgeous elf was his girlfriend changed the words to complete gibberish. Rayla laughed softly and smiled before grabbing his hand and planting a kiss on the back of it. “My lady.” She said, tunning the pitch of her voice down to sound more masculine.

Callum’s trance finally broke and he used his other hand to try to mimic a fan.

“My prince” he said jokingly and they burst out laughing together. “I was worried you weren’t going to show up at all.”

“Well, that was the plan. But then I thought about yer reaction to me in this thin’. Totally worth it the sufferin’ I had to go through.” She smirked at him.

“It was that bad?”

“Yes.” She replied curtly and Callum didn’t protest any further. Instead, he offered his arm to her, which she took and they headed to the party.

* * *

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the lights started to dim. Callum immediately recognized the notes. It was the waltz that was used in his mother and King’s Harrow wedding. The dance that brought every single person in the room to tears.

He noticed dozens of pairs were approaching the dance floor to begin the dance. He noticed his aunt and Janai were among them.

“May I have this dance?” He asked, offering his hand, which she took as they head for the dance floor.

When they arrived at the dance floor, they interlocked their fingers. Rayla put her hand on Callum’s shoulder and he put his hand on her waist before they settled for the usual waltz, Callum constantly looking at his feet.

“Don’t be so nervous, ya dummy. Ya’ve gotten better at this.” She said and squeezed his shoulder in reassurance.

“Okay. I-I got this.”

“Ya got this.”

They took some distance between themselves before coming back together and repeating for a couple of times. Callum brought Rayla’s hand up and spun her in place.

Rayla stopped before she could face him and now her back was against his chest. Callum’s hand came to hold her hand again while the other gripped more tightly at her hip as they spun and glided through the floor, Rayla’s dress creating an Ethereal look around her.

They reached the center of the dance floor, the spotlight right above them.

Callum smiled at her and she took the liberty to spun around alone before Callum catch by the hand again and bring her closer. She rested her head on his shoulder and hugged his neck loosely

“Ya’re doin’ amazin’” she whispered into his ear. The action sent shivers down his spine.

The instrumental picked up a faster pace and Callum spun Rayla again and again, both of them with lovestruck smiles on their faces.

Even though they weren’t exactly paying attention to it, the spotlight was currently following them around the room, making everyone who wasn’t currently dancing focus all their attention to them.

The world around them disappeared, the only thing remaining was them and the music that they followed.

In the middle of a spin, Rayla’s dress decided to betray her. The heel tip got tangled with the flowy fabric, making her trip. That is, she would’ve if Callum hadn’t grabbed her by the waist and dipped her in an attempt to make it seem like she hadn’t just slipped.

Rayla looked up at him, her face covered in a marvelous blush that made Callum’s heart rate pick up speed. His face felt hot and now he was sure everyone in the room was looking at them, but he didn’t really care. Rayla looked so radiant under the light and he just wanted to show her how he felt. So he did.

He kissed her while they were still in the middle of the spotlight. The kiss was slow, full of passion. Rayla’s hands found his hair and raked her fingers through his locks.

Still, with their lips together, Callum brought Rayla up and they finally pulled away, putting their foreheads together and gazing into each other’s eyes.

The music finally ended and Callum brought Rayla’s hand to his lips.

“I love you.” He whispered and Rayla’s slightly swollen lips curved into a soft smile.

He meant it every time and he would give anything to continue saying this for the rest of his life of it meant Rayla would smile at him just like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Visual references: [Rayla’s outfit and hair](https://ibb.co/album/xXPcx4), [Ellis’ outfit and hair](https://ibb.co/album/JnDDKT), [Janai’s outfit and hair](https://ibb.co/album/GF6LZn). For Amaya, I envision her wearing something similar to [Catra’s future outfit](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/shera-and-the-princesses-of-power/images/3/30/FutureCatra.png/revision/latest?cb=20200523183456) that was shown in the last episode of season five of She-Ra but the wing-pin is replaced by this [sun brooch](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0009/7799/3783/products/WBr016_2048x.jpg?v=1542220095).  
> I hope you all liked this! This is certainly the chapter I was most excited to write because of all the fancy clothing descriptions and all! Hopefully, I did it justice lol  
>  **Next prompt:** Written in the stars


	7. Written in the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum and Rayla talk about the stars and end up sharing some feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A written version of the skit of the San Diego Comic-Con 2019 but with something more right after.  
> This is set after the adoraburr field scene but before they arrive on Silvergrove so yes, pining because they’re in love, they’re just bad at saying it clearly to each other

** Written in the Stars **

The sky was clear and the moon was lighting the clearing Rayla and Callum chose to sleep. They had the most fun today, skipping through flower fields, playing with colorful creatures, and tomorrow they were going to reach Rayla’s village. Certainly, they would be able to help Rayla. Callum had nothing to worry about.

So he sighed happily and turned to look up at the horizon above him, stars twinkling brightly. Rayla was curled on her side and she appeared to be asleep, but he did have some questions for her, but also he didn’t want to disturb her, so he decided to use the strategy Ezran always used when trying to talk to him when he was supposed to be sleeping.

“Hey. Hey! Hey, Rayla!” he whispered just loud enough so she could listen, but she didn’t move, “Are- Are you still awake? I’m whispering so I don’t wake you, but if you are awake then I thought maybe-”

“I’m awake!” She finally said, turning to look at him, a frown on her face.

“Oh good! Whatcha doing?” His voice passed the level of whisper quickly and turning to his normal voice.

“I was tryin’ to _sleep,_ but I guess not anymore.” She was trying to be casual, but Callum knew she was probably thinking about going through with the assassination she was supposed to do almost a month ago.

He turned his head away from her direction and looked up at the sky again.

“Look, the stars are so bright...”

“Yeah,” she laid down on the meadow grass again and looked up to the endless twinkling lights above, “it’s beautiful.”

“I can’t believe we’re in Xadia.” It was still hard for him to process that information, “Even though we’re kinda in a totally different world, the sky is still the same.” He understood a lot about the sky now.

“That’s...” _Dumb? Stupid? Both?_ “poetic, Callum”

He looked at her and she was smiling at him, making his insides turn into butterflies. He could almost make out the constellations shining in her eyes and it was strikingly beautiful, just like her. _God,_ he was a goner the moment he admitted to himself that what he felt for her was more than just some platonic shit.

She raised a brow at him. _Fuck,_ he was staring at her like the dumb mage he was. He quickly tried to think of something else besides her.

“Look, you can see _the Great Soup Ladle!”_

“Uh, the what?” He pointed to a set of stars just above them.

“The-the set of stars right there! The five stars with the three and the other two!” Rayla’s confused face faded as she tilted her head slightly to get a better look at the stars.

“Oh, yeah!” she said excitedly.

“Just put them together and _shwoop!_ Soup ladle!” If he had to admit, he was proud of how his bizarre explanation about a constellation of a spoon turned out to be slightly understandable. Another thought came to his mind, “Don’t you have constellations in Xadia?”

“Well yeah, we do, but we don’t look at those stars and see a big spoon!” he turns to look at her again, interested in where this conversation was going.

“So, what do you see?” he inquired.

“Garlath the Annihilator!” she finally said, her tone of voice cheerful.

 _Oh._ He had to admit that definitely wasn’t what he was expecting when he asked her that. He had no idea elves had a vengeful God they worshipped.

“Oh! Oh, okay, neat! Uh… what about over there?” Callum points at another group of stars. “We call that _the Feisty Crab!_ See the big old claws?” He clicked his tongue and mimicked the claws of a crab.

The silly gesture made Rayla laugh and it warmed Callum on the inside. She stopped her giggling before continuing with her explanation.

“Those are Garlath’s Fists of Revolution,” she answered, “The left one is the _fist of vengeance_ and the right one is the _fist of revenge._ ”

“There’s a difference between vengeance and revenge?” Callum asked and saw Rayla roll her eyes, but she still had a smile on her lips, so he didn’t take it to his heart.

“Oh yes! The distinction is _really_ Garlath’s specialty.”

“Okay, well, uh…” Callum scanned the sky for more constellations, and he quickly settled for one that had a clear shape. “What about that one? The one that looks like a sled? We call it _the Sled_ because it’s clearly a sled!”

“Nope! It’s Garlath’s Blade of Sunderin’!”

Callum started to notice a pattern in elven constellations.

“ _The smiling bunny?_ ”

“Garlath’s Bandelier of Skulls.”

“ _The two fish who are friends?_ ”

“Garlath’s Flail of Poison Thorns.”

Rayla had a smug grin on her face. She was having too much fun talking about the stars with him.

“So, I’m sensing that Garlath kind of owns the night sky,” With a sigh he tried to search for _any_ constellation that wouldn’t have the vengeful God as its main subject, “But what about those two over there? The mama banther and the baby banther? They’re adorable!”

“Oh yeah, ya’re right! That’s not Garlath.”

“Really? Great! Okay, what is it?” He turned to look at her, a hopeful smile on his lips.

“It’s a pile of Garlath’s broken enemies, see?” _Oh_. “They’re clearly bein’ crushed beneath Garlath’s foot! We _do_ call it his Merciless Boot of Crushin’.”

“Yeah, yeah, no that makes sense…” he sighed in defeat. Just then he looked up and saw a single twinkle between the endless sea of lights and he decided to try for one last time, “Alright, alright, let’s try something different. What about that? It’s the brightest star in the sky, a single point of light. We call it the South Star. Humans use it to navigate, you know, to find their way in the endless darkness of the night!” He looked back at her and she was avoiding to look at him.

“Uhh…”

“Rayla, just tell me.” He deadpanned.

“That’s… Garlath’s Furnace of Souls where Garlath sends the spirits of his enemies to burn for all eternity.” Her smug grin had been replaced by an almost apologetic smile.

“Ah, forget it!” he crossed his arms over his chest and created a pout on his lips.

“We do also use it to navigate!” She said, her tone very cheerful.

“Are you just saying that to cheer me up?”

“Uhhh, maybe?” She smiled weakly at him and Callum groaned.

They stayed in silence for a few moments, the adoraburrs’ chirping and the crackling of the fire being the only sound they heard.

“Can I tell ya somethin’?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“Sure.”

“The thin’ with Garlath is somethin’ between Moonshadow elves. If ya were to show the same constellations to a Skywin’ elf, they might give ya a different answer.”

“Really? Why is that?” he turned his head to look at her and she did the same.

“Elf culture and teachings are very different. For example, in Moonshadow culture, touchin’ horns is completely unacceptable, unless ya’re both in an established relationship and in private. But if ya ask an Earthblood elf if ya can touch their horns, they will most likely agree to it, especially if ya say ya wanna decorate them for a party or festival.”

“This change of culture also applies to how elves see the world around them. Garlath is the God that the first Moonshadow elves worshipped because he supposedly created the moon arcanum and taught them how to fight and use the power of the full moon to annihilate their enemies. But Garlath is not the only God the elves know. There are a total of six, one for each primal source. I don’t really know the details, because my teachers never bothered to teach me about any of the other Gods and Goddesses.”

“That’s… interesting.” He admitted, after putting some thought into the subject.

“I can kinda see that humans are like that too, but they don’t focus on a subject when creatin’ these constellations, which I think it’s great!”

“Well, I can also see how focusing on one single subject when talking about stars can be cool too!” He added and Rayla smiled before her cheeks got tinted with a rosy blush.

“Maybe… when all of this is done and Zym is finally with his mum, we can…” she avoided his eyes “maybe we can teach each other about stars and all that shit.”

Callum felt his face getting hot, but he was able to muster a response:

“I think I-I would like that.”

He finally noticed how close their faces were when they just stared at each other like this. If he wanted, he could just close the already so small distance between them and finally know if Rayla felt the same thing. He just needed a little bit of courage.

“Hey! Look!” she pointed her index finger at the sky and Callum immediately followed it. They saw a shooting star crossing the horizon.

“A shooting star!” they said at the same time and smiled at each other, their faces red like moonberries.

“Do humans also wish upon them?” Rayla asked.

“Yeah! Though it’s been a while since I actually saw one of them.”

“Me too. My parents and I used to sit on the window sill of our old house and just wait for a single one to appear…” her face washed over with sadness at the mention of her parents and Callum wasn’t having it. He grabbed her hand gently and caressed the back of it with his thumb.

“What are you going to wish for the one we just saw?”

“I… I think the best thin’ I could wish was for this journey to end soon.”

“Why don’t you wish something for you? Something that would make you happy?”

Callum noticed her gaze lingering a bit too long on his face before she avoided it and twisted a strand of her hair between the finger of the hand he wasn’t currently holding.

“Do I… Do I need to say it aloud?”

“Not really, only if you want to.” He said and she nodded before closing her eyes, her lips turning into a straight line and for some reason, a blush crept into her cheeks before she slowly fluttered her eyes open, a shy smile on her lips now.

“Did you do it?” she nodded slowly and Callum smiled.

“Aren’t ya goin’ to wish for somethin’ too?” she inquired.

“I don’t think I need it. I…“ _I don’t need anything else besides you,_ his mind wanted to say but he was quick to shove the thought away, “I think I’m good. I’m in Xadia. That’s what I’ve wanted all my life.”

She smiled brightly at him and yawned, reminding both of them how late it was and how early they had to be up if they wanted to reach Rayla’s village before sundown.

“We should get some sleep,” he reluctantly let go of her hand, but brushed a strand of her hair off her face, lightly brushing his fingers against her cheek, “Goodnight, Rayla.”

“Goodnight, Callum.” She closed her eyes. Callum stared at her for a few seconds before closing his own.

* * *

Rayla waited for Callum’s breathing to even before she opened her eyes to look at him.

_I wish for an ending where you and I can be happy together_

How stupid she was? There was no way that could happen. After they delivered Zym to Zubeia, they would go on their separate ways. She was going back to Silvergrove and Callum back to Katolis to help Ezran, probably become the high mage of the court.

Whatever she wanted for their future together, not even the most powerful God would be able to give it to her.

She needed to _let go and move on._ It would be better for both of them like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to sprinkle some light angst at the end because _yes._ At least we know everything turned out fine, so that’s a bonus, right?  
>  **Next Prompt:** Callum’s birthday


	8. Callum’s Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum is finally 15! But so much has happened in his life since his last birthday, how much does that change on his birthday traditions?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote a non-rayllum piece for Callum’s birthday too, so if you’re interested in that, [click here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25165804)

** Callum’s Birthday **

“Okay Bait, on the count of three we slam the door open and you do your birthday trick, alright?” Ezran had his tiny hand against the wooden door of Callum and Rayla’s room as he whispered to his best friend that was sitting on top of his massive fluffy hair. Bait croaked in agreement and

“One,” Ezran put his hand on the door handle, “Two,” He lightly twisted the knob, “Three!” He pushed the door open and immediately turned to look at Callum’s bed.

“Happy Birthd- Uh?” The bed was empty and the covers were all tidy, almost as if Callum hadn’t slept on his own bed at all. “Hey, Rayla where is-” When he turned to look at the other bed where Rayla slept he found not only Callum, but Rayla sleeping, clinging onto each other.

Bait croaked loudly on top of Ezran’s head, making Rayla stir on the bed and flutter her eyes open. Absentmindedly, she rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms above her head and yawning.

“Hey Ez... What’s up with slammin’ the door like that? We’re tryin’ to sleep over here.”

“It’s just something I do on Callum’s birthday. Wake him up by slamming the door open and Bait does his _birthday flashing trick!_ But I wasn’t expecting to enter and find him in _your_ bed.”

“What...?” Rayla said and looked down at the prince who was clinging on her chest. Her face flared up on instinct she pushed Callum away from her body, making him fall off the bed.

Ezran and Rayla heard him groan in pain.

“What was that for, Rayla?” He asked, not bothering to remove his face or body from the cold and hard stone floor.

“Sorry! Sorry! It’s just that Ez caught me off-guard!”

“Wait, Ez?” He took his face out of the floor and looked at his brother who was suppressing a laugh. Callum’s face got pale as he realized how his brother finding Rayla and him sleeping on the same bed could be interpreted. He opened his mouth to try to say something but his brain wasn’t able to think of a quick answer.

“Look, if you two are sleeping together,” Callum could only hope none of the castle servants had heard his brother, “why do you need the other bed?”

“So Opeli doesn’t throw me into a separate room.” Rayla argued, her face still red.

“But why would she? I mean, you two are allowed to cuddle, you did it all the time when we were still on the spire!” _Could this day get worse?_ Callum wondered

“Ya will understand when ya’re older, Ez” Rayla said, sparing his brother of a very awkward talk about... _sandwiches._ He wasn’t ready for it. Not yet.

“Do you know what they’re talking about, Bait?” The frog looked down at Callum and Rayla who were silently telling him to keep his mouth shut. Bait seemed to understand and croaked lightly and Ezran’s lips turned to a pout, “Why does everyone keep not letting me know things!” He scoffed while Rayla and Callum let out sighs of relief.

“Why are you here so early, Ez?” Callum asked, sitting on the bed and stretching his arms over his head.

“Did ya forget?” Rayla asked and Callum noticed a devious smirk on her face before she hugged him tightly, “Happy birthday, ya big dumb human!”

“Yeah!” Ezran celebrated and hugged his brother, Bait falling off his head and into Callum’s lap.

“Oh crap, it’s today?” Callum asked, his face between Rayla’s and Ezran’s.

“Did you seriously forget it?”

“You do know that I’m only fifteen and just two months ago I went into a quest to deliver a baby dragon back to his mother and on that journey I’ve done magic with a primal stone, broke that said primal stone to save a dying dragon egg, almost killed the dragon prince with lightning, tried dark magic, almost died because of it, connected to a primal source, went into Xadia, almost died by a blind dragon, crossed a desert, had my first kiss, almost died out of breath, fought in a battle against three armies of monsters, lept off a spire, learned how to turn my arms into wings and got back home in one piece, so excuse me for having other things in my mind.”

“I think ya forgot somethin’” Rayla said.

“What?”

“What about the fact that ya fell in love with the most amazin’ elf in all of Xadia?” Callum chuckled and turned to face her completely.

“I guess I did forget about that, care to remind me?” Rayla nodded and she kissed him. Callum closed his eyes and tightened his grip around her waist.

“Ugh, gross,” Ezran said, making Callum and Rayla flush and stop their kissing, “C’mon Bait. We’re leaving them alone.”

The toad croaked in agreement and both of them lept off the bed, rushing out the room and closing the door.

“Can... we continue?” Callum asked bashfully and Rayla chuckled.

“It’s yer birthday, yer majesty. For once, ya pull the strings.”

Callum cradled her cheek on his palm and brought her face closer to him, connecting their lips for the second time that morning. Her hands snaked to the back of his neck and locked him into place.

“PRINCE CALLUM!” Opeli’s voice rang through his ears making him immediately turn to face her, his skin pale. The woman was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest and a serious and stern gaze on her features.

“H-Hey Opeli...”

What a great way to start his birthday.

* * *

Every birthday since Callum’s arrival at the castle was the same. King Harrow would demand a feast of all of Callum’s favorite foods to be prepared and they would open gifts. Harrow always tried to make him happy on his birthday. Now that King Harrow was dead, what was going to be of his birthday now was unknown.

He pushed the doors to the dining room of the castle open and found himself in an empty room, not a single person at sight.

“Uh, weird.” He approached the big wooden table, his fingertips grazing against the old and worn-out material. He sighed and looked at the place on the table he always sat in the morning, noticing a folded paper on the seat.

He grabbed it and unfold it, finding Ezran’s writing on it.

_Hey Callum! We’re moving the celebration to the royal garden this year! Find us over there. Love, your brother, and King, Ezran._

“Thanks for the heads up, Ez.” Callum folded the paper again and stuffed in his pocket.

* * *

“I was starting to get worried you didn’t see the note.” Ezran said as Callum took sat on the shade of the tree in the garden.

A picnic cloth was spread on the ground and a bowl of summer fruit, Callum’s favorite food, was sitting in the middle of it. Some other sweets, mainly jelly tarts, were spread around.

“I mean, you wouldn’t have gotten worried in the first place if you did tell me about it instead of leaving notes.”

“It’s more fun this way! And it gave me and Rayla time to set this up!”

“Uh...” Callum looked around but no sign of his girlfriend, “Where is she?”

“Weird, she was just here.” Ezran also looked around, squinting his eyes to see as far away as possible.

“Rayla! Where are you?! Don’t disappear on my first birthday together!” They heard some laughing and giggling not too far away from them.

Before they knew what was happening, Rayla dropped down from the tree above them, hanging only her legs who were securing her around a low branch.

Without any warning, she kissed Callum on the nose while still hanging upside down.

“What do ya think of this outside birthday celebration? It was my idea!” She said, proud of her achievement and Callum chuckled, caressing her cheek.

“It’s great! I love it!”

“Good!” She dropped down from the branch gracefully, “Now enjoy yer food.”

He nodded and grabbed the bowl of fresh summer fruit off the cloth and without ceremony devoured the whole bowl.

“Wow, ya were hungry.” Rayla said, her eyes wide.

“He’s like that every single birthday,” Ezran explained, “And now that you two are together, you’re going to endure this for the rest of your life.”

“I don’t mind,” Rayla said, taking a handkerchief from the basket and wiping the crumbs off his chin and lips, “I think it’s adorable.”

“God, you two are so gross. I hope I never turn out to be this cheesy.”

“It’s just love, Ez. Once you find the right person, you’ll be the one saying all this cheesy stuff, like _my ray-la of sunshine.”_ Callum said.

“Or _mage of my life”_

_“My everything.”_

_“My whole world.”_

“STOP! AS THE KING OF KATOLIS, I DEMAND YOU TWO TO STOP WITH THE LOVE TALK!” Ezran shouted.

“And as the birthday man, prince of Katolis, _and_ your older brother, I demand you to let me gush over how much in love I am with my girlfriend!”

“Uh-Uh! Not happening! You’re prohibited and your birthday privileges don’t go as far as that! I’ll have Opeli write that into a law tonight!”

Callum rolled his eyes in annoyance, a pout being placed on his lips. Rayla laughed and put her arms around Callum’s shoulders and kissing his cheek.

“What did I just say?!” Ezran complained.

“To be fair, ya told we can’t do the _love talk._ Ya never said anything about not being able to demonstrate it with actions.” She nuzzled onto his neck, plating a few kisses that Ezran wouldn’t be able to notice but Callum sure did by the way his skin felt hot all of a sudden.

Never in his fifteen years, he thought he would spend an afternoon being showered with kisses by an elf he was so much deeply in love, but honestly? He wouldn’t change a thing.

* * *

The sun was setting in the garden when Callum finally found some time to do his favorite birthday tradition.

He opened his sketchbook on his lap and before he went for a new page, he decided to find his old drawings.

The first one was just four stick figures, two taller ones, one small and one even smaller. All of them were holding hands.

The second one was a little better. This time he had bothered to out some details. The said details were some scribbles little Callum called hair. Also, there was a fifth member, a blotch of paint he called at the time said it was Bait.

The next one was different. There were only three figures and the paper still had the smudges of tears he dropped when drawing it.

As he passed the drawings, they got better and Callum felt proud of it.

When he reached the one from last year, his heart ached by seeing King Harrow smiling brightly like he always did.

“What are ya doin’, Callum?” Rayla asked, putting her chin on his shoulder and looking down at the page, “That’s a nice drawin’ of yer dad. His smile feels very warm.”

“Thanks, though it will never feel as warm as the real thing.” He admitted.

“Callum...”

“I just wish he was here. I’m sure he would’ve loved you. My mom would too.”

“Even though I’m an elf?”

“They would see how much you loved me and how much I loved you. That would be enough for them.” He kissed her forehead, “I love you.” Rayla smiled softly at him.

“That came out of nowhere, are ya feelin’ okay?” she said, half-jokingly, half-worriedly.

“Just felt like I should say it.”

“Well, in that case, I love ya too.” They shared a heartfelt kiss.

For the first time, his birthday portrait had a total of six people. Ezran, Bait, Callum, Rayla, and both of his parents smiling, the lines slightly faded. They may not be here in person, but they will always be there looking over him.

That was enough for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a bittersweet ending! I actually teared up when writing this. Maybe I should take a break from angst and focus solely on fluff. I guess the next prompt is perfect for this!  
>  **Next Prompt:** Domesticity


	9. Domesticity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a beautiful night, Rayla and Callum wake up as newly-weds on their new home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set about seven years after the battle of the storm spire. Callum is about 22 and Rayla is about 23.

** Domesticity **

The first thing Callum thought when he woke up was _warmth._

His whole body was warm. The memories of last night flooded his mind. The ceremony, the exchange of vows, the reception, sneaking out with his wife back to their home, and the love they shared after they got there.

He opened his eyes and found Rayla being the little spoon, just like last night. Callum smiled and brushed some of her hair off her face and kissed her temple.

“Hmm…” Rayla stirred, a smile growing on her beautiful face.

“Good morning, Ray” Callum said in a sing-song voice.

“Good mornin’…” she said, her voice dripping with sleep. Callum’s lips dropped from her temple lazily kissed the sensitive part of her ear slowly. “Callum…” she said, her voice stern, but the smile and blush of her cheeks and necks told him that she wasn’t exactly mad at him.

“What?”

“Ya are not dumb. Ya know exactly what ya are doin’!”

“Me?” He smiled, his lips going to pepper her neck with kisses, slowly going over some dark bruises from last night, “I’m just a simple human mage, who likes to kiss my beautiful _wife_ in the mornings.”

“Sweet Garlath, ya _are_ cheesy. Can’t believe last night I told I wanted to spend the rest of my life with ya.”

“But you _did_ and you aren’t allowed to take back!” He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer.

“Oh no, I’m goin’ to be spoiled for the rest of my life by my incredibly handsome _husband!_ Oh, what should I do?!”

“Nothing, just accept that every morning will be like this…”

“Such a nightmare!” She tried to sound serious but the giggles that escaped her lips gave it away.

“You like it.” She turned to face him and put one of their pillows on his face, “Hey what-” Rayla without thinking twice, she rolled over him and straddled his hips, staring down at him with a serious face.

“Stop this before I make ya stop it.”

“This is not exactly a threat, y’know?” He admitted.

“Ughh! What’s wrong with ya this mornin’? Ya’re insufferable!”

“I guess waking up after such an incredible night with all of my friends and especially _you,_ gives me a self-esteem boost.” She groaned but didn’t comment further.

“Do ya know what time is it?”

“No idea. It’s kinda hard to tell the time when every hour of the day here is dark.”

“We should probably get up soon.” She said.

“Why? We’ve just got married, we’re allowed to sleep in.”

“Well, if humans can live without a proper breakfast, good for them, but elves are different.”

“Nooo! Don’t leave the bed…” He asked, pulling her down to his bare chest.

“If ya want yer wife to starve on the first day of yer marriage, sorry to disappoint ya.” 

She got up from the bed and looked around the floor, finding her cotton nightgown laying on the floor. She quickly put it over her body and left the bedroom, not bothering to close the door.

* * *

The smell of the food started to find its way to the room and Callum heard his stomach growl and his mouth started to water.

With a sigh, he threw the covers of his legs and went to the dresser, pulling out a pair of baggy grey pants and got in them before leaving the warm bedroom behind.

As he walked through the corridor, he looked out the window to the backyard of the house. If he squinted his eyes enough, he would be able to see the Adoraburr field not too far away.

He smiled, remembering the dozens of afternoons they spent there while developing their relationship and falling in love more and more. It was perfect.

Turning his attention away from the window, he continued walking down the corridor until the archway to the living room appeared. There were still some boxes with furniture they needed to unpack and put it together, but not today. Today he just wanted to relax and enjoy calling Rayla his wife like he’d been wanting to do for almost a year since he proposed to her.

He looked to his left into the kitchen and saw Rayla near the hearth of the kitchen, stirring something on an old pot.

Silently as he could, he approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, putting his chin in between her horns.

“Finally decided to get out of bed, sleepin’ beauty?” She asked, not bothering to try to look at him.

“Yep, though I have to admit the smell is what really got me here.”

“So ya weren’t goin’ to give me a hand in the first place? Rude!” she poked his face with her finger.

“Well, I did come for the smell but stayed for the view.” He tightened his grip around her waist, giving a clear indication of what he meant.

“What’s gotten into ya that made ya so cocky?”

“You could’ve used a better word, y’know.” He whispered and he felt her skin get hot by his insinuation.

“One. More. Word and I’ll consider ending my mission of seven years ago.” She said, her eyes not drifting away from the pot that was being heated.

“So you’ll be a widow?”

“If I told ya that widows are actually very respected in Moonshadow culture, would that make ya more scared of what I’m willin’ to do?” Callum nodded and stayed quiet for some moments.

“Can I taste it?”

“That depends, are ya goin’ to lay off bein’ such an ass for the rest of the day?”

“Hmmm, what about until the end of the morning?”

“Afternoon.” She countered.

“Deal.” He said and took his face out of the space between her horns. She turned with the wooden spoon with the brown liquid and put it between his lips.

Rayla waited for his feedback, which was a very pleased sound from the back of his throat.

“Rayla! This is amazing! What is this called?”

“It’s a root soup with mushrooms and meat. Doesn’t really have a name.”

“Well, it’s amazing!”

“Glad ya liked it.” She said, cleaning the spoon with a piece of cloth and putting it back into the pot.

Callum removed himself from behind her and gently took her hand that wasn’t currently occupied and brought to his lips.

“Did I ever tell you that I love you?”

“I guess ya forgot that half of yer vows last night were made of these three words.”

“It never hurts to say again.” He leaned forward and captured her lips in a slow and passionate kiss. Rayla’s hand went up to his arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps where her fingertips touched his skin.

They pulled away with dumb and lovestruck smiles on their faces.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life just like this.” He whispered.

“Me too.” She whispered back, still with her eyes half-lidded and they kissed again.

Life was good and they couldn’t wait for more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff! I needed that lol  
>  **Next Prompt:** In Laws


	10. In-Laws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being released from the coins, Runaan, Tiadrin, and Lain are invited to the Banther Lodge to bond with the newfound family their daughter created

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set five years and a half after the battle of the storm spire.

** In-Laws **

Callum knew what to expect when he proposed the invitation to spend part of Yule and New Year’s at the Banther Lodge. Surely he expected them to blatantly refuse it.

It had been less than six months since Callum freed them of the coins and they were slightly suspicious of him, especially Runaan. And Callum understood them completely.

They stayed away from this world and when they got out, the world had changed drastically. Elves and humans weren’t fighting anymore, the breach was gone, elves and humans were now allowed to travel freely to each other's sides, elves and humans were establishing solid friendships and romantic relationships, including their daughter who was dating the son of the man who killed Avizandum.

Callum would understand and support them if they needed more time to assimilate things.

But they agreed to it. Without hesitation.

Okay, Runaan did hesitate a little, but when he saw that his husband and best friends agreed to it, he didn’t seem to have a choice if he didn’t want to spend a whole week alone back in Silvergrove.

Now, sitting near the fireplace, Callum couldn’t contain his nerves. His hands were fidgeting and he was constantly looking at the door.

There was no way they were going to get lost. Ethari knew the way to the lodge. But still, they were taking a bit too much time away-

“I know that face.”

Callum’s head snapped in Rayla’s direction. She was sitting on the couch, a dark teal quilt covering her legs and half of her chest, a book in one of her hands, and a mug on the other.

“What face?”

“The ‘Did I do shit?’ face.” She put her book and mug down and patted the vacant space beside her. Without hesitation, he sat beside her and laid down, his back on her chest as she spread further into the furniture, her feet almost reaching the other armrest of the chair. She snaked her arms around his chest and rested her cheek on top of his head.

“No need to worry, ya dumb lump. Ya’re worryin’ about the picked Moonshadow Elves the Dragon Queen herself chose, a skilled assassin with more than twenty years on his back and a smith that can use moon magic. There’s nothin’ for ya to worry about.”

Callum let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

“I just don’t want to ruin this.”

“Ya’re not goin’ to ruin this, dummy. They may not show this, but my parents, all four of them, are very grateful for what ya did. Ya brought my family back to me…” Rayla tightened her grip around his chest “I just wish I could do the same to _yer_ family.”

“Rayla…”

“Don’t worry, I’m okay. Just a little emotional. These six months have been somethin’, y’know?”

“I can agree with you on that.” He chuckled and took on her hands oof his chest and brought to his lips where he peppered her violet skin with feathery kisses.

He smiled up to her and leaned in for a kiss, which Rayla was more than happy to give. It was quick but enough to make both of their hearts flutter.

“If I was still 10, I would say that you two are sappier than a bowl of honey and jelly tarts.” Ezran said as he entered the living room. His little brother, now not so little anymore, was standing on the doorway that connected the living room and the living room.

“Like you would be any better if you had the courage to ask out Ellis~” Callum teased and saw the way his brother’s face flared up.

“T-This has nothing to do with this conversation-”

“But I think it does!”

“Leave him alone, Callum. At least now he knows how hard it is to admit yer feelings to someone.” Rayla teased back

“You two are so funny, hahaha.” Ezran deadpanned, “Just because of that, you two aren’t getting jelly tarts that just left the oven.”

“Did Aunt Amaya made those?” Callum asked.

“She started the dough, but she left to check on Aunt Janai who was taking a bit too long trying to find wood for the fireplace so I finished it.”

“Are they back yet?”

“No.”

“That’s probably for the best, Runaan will never admit it but he is a little afraid of Aunt Amaya.” Rayla said.

“I mean, who wouldn’t?” Callum added and they all laughed together.

A knock on the wooden door fo the lodge made all their heads turn to the entrance.

“You think-” Callum started.

“Aunt Amaya and Janai have a spare key, so yeah, it’s probably them.” Ezran before Callum could finish his sentence.

Rayla took a look at the door and back at Callum. She kissed him on the forehead before leaping off Callum’s embrace and the couch too.

She grabbed the keys of the door that was on the center table and rushed to the door.

She took a deep breath before inserting the key in the hole and twisting it, her hands already on the handle. She heard a faint click of the door being unlocked and pulled it.

“Rayla!”

Surely enough, Tiadrin, Lain, Ethari, and Runaan were standing outside the door wearing warm clothes due to the cold weather.

“Hey! Come in-” She didn’t get to finish her invitation as all four of her parents hugged her, almost making her lose her balance.

“We’re sorry for the delay,” Ethari said as they all let go of the youngest elf, “Runaan kept complainin’ about the weather. I had to give him my scarf for him to shut up.”

Callum saw the way Runaan hid his red face in the purple cloth and he couldn’t help but smile when he remembered that Rayla did the same thing when someone remarked that she was wearing _his_ scarf.

“Ya’ll get used to it, Runaan.” Rayla said, not bothering to hide her amused smile. She stepped out of the way and let all four of them in.

They quickly put their coats and scarves in the rack beside the door as Rayla closed it.

“Runaan, dad, mom, welcome to the banther lodge! This is where I’ve been spending all of my last five Yules and New Years.”

“What is this _Yule,_ Rayla?” Tiadrin inquired.

“It’s a human festival,” Ezran started as he entered the living room, the tray of tarts in his hands, “It starts in the winter solstice and it lasts until the first day of the new year. We do all sorts of fun activities, like play in the snow, curl around the fireplace, bake, stay up real late, and sleep in.”

“I see… Well, thank ya… um-” Tiadrin seemed confused for a moment before Ezran realized his mistake.

“Oh, I didn’t introduce myself to you too yet, my bad.” He put the tray of Jelly tarts on the center table. “My name is Ezran!” He extended his hand to Tiadrin, “I’m Callum’s brother and the King of Katolis.” He said without ceremony, making Tiadrin’s and Lain’s eyes widen at his words. They immediately bowed as if they were in front of the Dragon Queen herself.

“Yer majesty.” They said in unison making Ezran clearly uncomfortable.

“N-No need for that. I don’t care about those titles and bows.” It was true. Opeli _is_ the one who usually insists on the lords and other people to call Ezran by regal titles and be so formal with him.

Rayla’s parents looked at each other suspiciously but didn’t comment any further.

“So ya’re Callum’s older brother?” Lain inquired

 _“WHAT?!”_ Callum protested, throwing his arms over his head. “HE’S FIFTEEN!”

“Oh really? Ya look so much older-” Lain put his hand on his chin, deep in thought. Ezran chuckled bashfully.

“HE’S JUST TALL!” Callum huffed in annoyance.

“Don’t mind him.” Rayla started, “He’s just bitter Ez is almost as tall as him.”

“That has nothing to do with it!” Callum crossed his arms in front of his chest as Ezran, Rayla, and her parents (except Runaan) laughed.

“Come on,” Rayla said, wiping a tear of joy that was escaping her eye, “I’ll show y’all the rooms.”

“Ya sure there enough for all of us, Rayla?” Tiadrin asked.

“This is a royal lodge mom. There are plenty of rooms they go for years without havin’ a single guest sleepin’ in them.”

Callum greeted every single one of them with a smile as they passed through the living room to reach the stairs. Ethari returned the smile, Lain and Tiadrin were a little unsure but still returned with small smiles. Runaan on the other hand looked at the boy with a strange expression but his stare wasn’t cold like it was for the first months.

Callum could only hope this meant they were going in the right direction.

* * *

Janai and Amaya arrived not long after the group, pieces of wood in their hands.

As the night fell, the group gathered near the fireplace.

Ezran was occupied reviewing yet another letter, though by the way he was smiling and the neat and almost hurried writing on the paper, Rayla could only guess the letter was from Ellis.

Amaya and Janai were sitting further away from the fire, probably because Janai was warming Amaya just by being by her side.

Ethari and Runaan were sitting on the couch, their legs entangled as they ate a piece of the fruit cake.

Lain and Tiadrin were drinking some mulled wine as they looked at the photographs that were hanging on the wall.

Rayla and Callum were sitting on the window seat of the living room, Rayla’s back pressed against Callum’s chest as they drunk their wine too and watched the snow fall into the ground throughout the night.

“Do you remember the first holiday we spend here?” Callum asked.

“Aye. A blizzard hit us in the first night, makin’ me, ya, and Ezran stuck inside this for almost two days straight.”

“We almost died of hypothermia because the fire was dying out and we were running out of firewood.”

“And then the three of us snuggled closer inside the warmest blanket of the lodge near the fire and slept all night, enjoyin’ the comfiness.”

“Time sure does fly fast, uh?” Callum asked, earning only a nod from his girlfriend, “Six years ago it was just Ezran, dad and me. Then a year later we had you, except dad wasn’t here anymore. Then it was Soren, Opeli, and Corvus. After that Aunt Janai and Amaya.”

“Ellis, Ava, Lujanne, and Phoe-Phoe.” Rayla added

“And now your parents are back after so long.”

“It feels like every year our found family grows more and more.” She said her voice barely above a whisper.

“Is that bad?”

Rayla looked at the people in the living room, all laughing because of some dumb joke Ezran told. Even Runaan was smiling a little. It made Rayla’s heart flutter seeing him, a man that was always told to hold emotions back, smiling because a former target of his was just a goofy kid.

Her eyes closed for a moment and she allowed herself to smile as she snuggled further into the crook of Callum’s neck.

“No. Not at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Found family is one of my favorite tropes ever, so I had a lot of fun trying to think of what I could write for this prompt in particular. Hopefully, it was just as rewarding for you guys to read as it was for me to write!  
>  **Next Prompt:** Alternate Universe


	11. Alternate Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla and Callum get invited to Claudia and Soren’s party **(Childhood Friends AU and Modern AU)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the third time I’m writing this prompt because my ass was never satisfied with the end result. Hopefully, the third time is the charm.

** Alternate Universe **

“Hey, Callum!”

The boy could barely hear the sound of Claudia’s voice through the loud chatter of the party. He turned into the direction of her voice and saw her squeezing through a couple of drunk people.

“Oh, hey Clauds, what’s up-”

“No time for that!” She grabbed his hand and dragged him through a sea of drunk people, the classic red cup on her hand.

When she struggled to get up the stairs, Callum connected the dots.

“Claudia, are you drunk-”

“Just a little tipsy, no worries!”

“You seem a little bit more than tipsy in my opinion-”

“Nonsense! I’ve had like,” she stops mid-sentence and Callum swears he can hear the cogs of her brain working, “three cups of these. Not enough for someone to get drunk on!”

“But you’re a lightweight!”

“Well, so are you, so that means you have no speaking ground!”

“That doesn’t make any sense- nevermind.” He decided to let the subject go, “Where are you taking me?”

“To the exclusive room of the party! Soren, some friends and I are playing a game and you’re obligated to play with us!”

“When did I sign that contract?”

“Nine years ago, when you were twelve. I have a copy in my drawer.”

“Wait, was that the thing I signed for you instead of Soren’s birthday card?”

“Yes! Wow, your memory _is_ perfect!” Callum couldn’t say if he was impressed with that or terrified. Probably both.

Soon, after making their way through dozens of drunk people upstairs, they found themselves in front of Claudia’s bedroom.

“This is the exclusive room?”

“Yep!”

“I thought it would be more like your dad’s secret room where he keeps all that crazy shit about delinquent kids of the school he works with my dad. He does have that, right?”

“Yep, but he left it locked when he went with your dad to that conference overseas, so we’re sticking with my room for now!” She searched in her pockets for something before pulling out a black metal key with a purple stone.

“God, you’re such a drama goth queen.” He whispered and Claudia snickered at him before inserting the key on the hole.

She dramatically pushed the door open, revealing the people inside the bedroom. Soren and Marcos chatting with a few other friends sitting on the circle, Nyx, unfortunately, was here, and-

“Hey, Callum!”

“Rayla?”

“The one and only!” She smiled up at him and Callum couldn’t help but feel his face warming at the sight of her.

Rayla had been one of his best friends since his early middle school days. When he finally got over his childhood crush for Claudia, it was obvious that he was going to fall for Rayla. And he did. He had been in love with her for over six years.

He sat by her side at the circle in the middle of Claudia’s floor.

“Surprised to see me?” She asked, her voice in a lower volume so the others wouldn’t hear them.

“Well, yes. I just didn’t imagine you as someone to enjoy these kinds of gatherings, with drunk people all over the place.”

“I’m not. Claudia just insisted a lot and I told her I would come if she let me stay in her room durin’ the entire night.”

“So that’s why I didn’t see you!”

“That and there are at least fifty people inside this house right now.” She smirked at him.

“Hahaha, funny.” He smiled back at her and their conversation finally ended.

“So, me and Soren we’re talking and we decided the game we’re playing!” Claudia said before picking up an empty bottle of beer from the floor. “We’re playing _Dare and Dare._ ”

“Don’t you mean _Truth and Dare_?” Sabah, a friend of Marcos and Soren _(mostly Marcos)_ inquired.

“Nope! Because tonight we’re only daring!” Claudia said as she set an empty bottle of wine in the middle of the circle. She grabbed a black candy bowl from past Halloween from her desk, some small sticking notes, and some glittery pens. “I want everyone here to write a dare and fold it. Then you’ll put in this bowl and before we spin, we’ll pull out a piece of paper and then spin! Fun right?”

Callum wanted to deny and leave the room, but he knew he was hanging with the cool kids. And Rayla was here. Sure she would never think he was a loser over this, but if he quit now because he was scared of whatever it may come his way, he was sure that Rayla would quit too just to try to make him feel better and keep him company, making her also a target of being called a loser in college too.

So he stayed quiet and bit his tongue so he wouldn’t comment any further.

Everyone else agreed to the terms and conditions and grabbed a sticky note and a pen from Claudia.

Callum thought thoroughly of his dare before settling for the classic _take a shot_ and folding the paper before handing it to Claudia.

“Alright, did everyone write out their dares?” Claudia asked and everyone nodded back. She put the bowl between her and Soren and pulled a piece of paper between her fingers. “Oooh, we’re starting on fire! _Kiss the person on your left.”_

“That’s a classic!” Soren said and Callum could notice by his voice that he was far from tipsy and starting to be really drunk.

Callum looked at his left and saw that it was Nyx and he silently prayed to every single God out there that he wouldn’t be picked.

With a spin of her wrist, Claudia spun the bottle and it landed on Marcos. Callum looked at the man’s left and Sabah was right there, her dark skin red as she realized who Marcos would have to kiss.

“Oh, this is interesting~” Nyx said in a sing-song voice.

“Come on, love birds. Kiss already. We’ve been waiting for this moment since the first year of college.” Claudia said, clearly having too much fun.

Callum had to suppress an eye roll. Claudia was never subtle, why would she be now when she was starting to get drunk?

Marcos and Sabah were red as two tomatoes at this point and they looked at each other before they leaned in for a quick peck, which worsened the state of their faces.

“Booooo!” Nyx shouted, “Ya two finally get an excuse to kiss and this is the better ya two can come up? Boring.”

“W-Well, the dare didn’t specify how long the kiss was supposed to be!” Sabah tried to defend herself, but it didn’t work.

“Well, that was a waste of a very good and classic dare.” Claudia said, throwing the sticky note into the bin near her, “Now Marcos, pull a dare.” Claudia gave the Asian man the bowl and he carefully pulled a dare.

 _“Take a shot.”_ He said, his voice still very low due to his embarrassment.

“Seems like tonight is the night of the classics, but honestly I wanted something more daring than these…” Claudia said and Callum couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed. Marcos spun the bottle before it landed on Rayla.

“Meh.” She mumbled before looking at Claudia and Soren, “ya two have shot glasses, right?”

Claudia nodded rapidly before leaving the room and coming back with a small red cup, similar to the one Callum saw during the entirety of the party. He saw an orange liquid inside, but he didn’t have too much time to dwell on trying to guess what it was before Rayla took the shot in one go as if it was nothing.

“There. Dare done.”

“Alright, Rayla’s first shot!” Soren cheered and Rayla rolled her eyes. She got the bowl with the dares and unfolded the piece of paper.

“ _Trick dare: the last person who got the dare and the next one who gets picked are goin’ to the closet and doin’ the classic seven minutes in heaven.”_

Callum saw the way Rayla’s face flared. She wasn’t the type of kissing someone in a dark closet because of a dare. He could almost see how uncomfortable she was.

“Seven minutes in heaven with dear and gorgeous Rayla!” Nyx said, a smirk sitting on her lips.

“Go fuck a pigeon, Nyx.” Rayla said before spinning the bottle with as much as strength as she could.

Callum could see the world in slow motion as he stared deeply at the bottle, who spun various times before it stopped, landing on…

“Come on, Callum. You and Rayla are going to enter my closet!” Claudia said, not being able to contain her smile. Callum‘s brain was so busy processing the fact that the bottle had just landed on him of all people. He didn’t even notice that he was being dragged into Claudia’s goth closet until she winked at them and closed the door.

Now Callum was standing inside a dark two square yards closet with his long time crush while everyone out there was waiting for them to make out. He couldn’t even say that he liked her!

Rayla was avoiding his eyes, her fingers fidgeting. _God this was awkward._

“So-” They said at the same time. Their eyes widened before they burst into a fit of laughter.

“Gosh, this is awkward.” Rayla started.

“Yeah, you can say that.” Callum breathed and he smiled at her, “Look, we don’t have to…” He trailed off.

“Make out?” She completed his sentence.

“Yes. Don’t get me wrong with all of this,” _I would really like to kiss you,_ his mind coaxed him to say, “but it’s a little pressuring all of this, you know?”

“Aye, I totally get it.” She nodded and Callum let out a sigh, relieved that Rayla understood the situation. “So, what do we do for these next seven minutes?”

“Maybe we just stare at each other like the dorks we are?” She snorted lightly and swatted him in the arm.

“Ya’re such an asshat!”

“You like it,” he teased her and she narrowed her eyes at him before smirking, making him swallow. She raised her hands at him and Callum immediately realized what she was going to do, “Oh no, no tickling Rayla-”

It was too late. Her hands started to wander his sides and no longer he could contain his giggling and laughter.

He lost his balance and hit his back on the door and the light chatter that was going on in the bedroom ceased. Rayla stopped her ministrations and they both sat in silence.

 _“Wow, they_ are _gettin’ busy in there. Good luck disinfectin’ yer closet, Claudia!”_

_“It’s not like I care, it’s what I planned after all.”_

Callum’s eyes widened and he saw Rayla’s eyes widening too.

“Do you still have that sticky note with the dare, Rayla?” Callum asked, his voice low. She nodded and took out the paper from the pocket of her leather jacket. He sighed in defeat.

“This is Claudia’s handwriting. I can identify it by a mile away. I can’t believe she wasted a dare on this. She could have made Soren eat an entire loaf of bread in five minutes! Or dance on top of a table! But instead, she’s trying to play matchmaker, crazy! Right, Rayla?” Callum looked at the girl and she was putting a strand of her hair behind her ear and he could faintly see that her cheeks were red.

“Yeah… Crazy! Who would do somethin’ like that…” she trailed off.

“Rayla, what did you do?”

“Fine! I wrote the first dare that made Marcos kiss Sabah! Ya got me!”

“Wait, you wrote the kissing dare?” she nodded sheepishly, “Did you want to get Marcos and Sabah together?” she shook her head in denial, “Then why did you do it?”

“It was the first thing that came over my head…”

“Well, it was a very specific dare, you know? _‘Kiss the person on your left_ ’? Who was even sitting on your left to make you think that?”

“Ya were.” She whispered and Callum’s eyes widened. He instinctively tried to take a step back but his back hit the wall of the closet. Rayla buried her face into her hands and groaned. “Fuck, I made this weird.” She mumbled into her palms before looking at him, “Look, we don’t have much time in here from what I can tell, but I won’t let us go back outside with this weird atmosphere so here I go:” she took a deep breath and started:

“Callum I’ve been pinin’ for ya since I was sixteen and I was never able to say anythin’ because I am a coward and all the feelings I’ve been buildin’ for the past six years and I don’t want to ruin our friendship either because I know ya don’t see me that way-”

Callum pulled her closer to him and crashed their lips together. Callum’s eyes closed but when he opened them again, he saw Rayla’s wide eyes and a very confused expression sitting on her face.

“Oh no,” He was starting to panic, “I’m so… I’m sorry! I just got carried away! The next thing I knew, my lips were getting way ahead of me, and-”

“Shut up.” Rayla cut him off with a roll of her eyes.

“What-” She brought her hand to the collar of his shirt, her lips in a straight line before she met his eyes and clashed their lips together once again.

Callum’s eyes closed at the same time as hers and he let himself enjoy the feeling of the lips he waited for six years to feel. And God _it was worth it._

Rayla’s hand dropped from the collar of his shirt and slowly fell until it stopped in the middle of his chest, her hand right above his heart who was pounding loudly.

Sooner than he wanted, they pulled away and Callum looked into Rayla’s eyes for any hint of regret. He only found warmth and longing.

“Wow.” He whispered and Rayla lightly giggled. Callum’s hands settle in the low of her back before they dove for another kiss.

But they were interrupted by the sound of the closet door sliding open.

“ _Holy_ shit.” Claudia’s jaw was almost on the floor.

“Oh, hey Claudia.” Callum greeting the raven-haired girl, “something the matter?”

“Uh- Nope! No problem at all!” She tried to fake her usual snort, but when she failed, she sighed and stopped blocking the entrance of the closet.

Callum and Rayla looked at each other before they smiled and held hands before they approached the circle, still not sitting.

“Wait did you two really…” Soren asked, his jaw equally as dropped as Claudia’s.

“Yep.” Callum said, not breaking visual contact with Rayla.

“All the seven minutes?” Callum hesitated to answer for a minute before Rayla winked at him and squeezed his hand.

“Aye.” She answered for him.

Silence hung in the room and Rayla tugged Callum’s hand slightly before she cleared her throat.

“If ya all don’t mind, I think we should leave this game.” Everyone was too shocked to even protest or ask why, so Rayla and Callum took that as an agreement.

When they closed the door behind them, they fell into a fit of giggles and laughter like two teenagers. When their laughter finally died down, they shared a small kiss that was enough to make Callum’s heart flutter.

“Let’s go, I’m sick of this party already.” She whispered against his lips.

He couldn’t deny her request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only God knows how much I’m still divided about this chapter, so any feedback on it is appreciated! Let me know your thoughts :>  
> Also: I referenced Marcos as Asian since that’s what I’ve always thought he was, but since I couldn’t find a source that confirmed him as Asian, if he isn’t, let me know so I can fix it! Thank you <3  
>  **Next Prompt:** Gift


	12. Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum feels like Rayla is mad at him, so he tries to surprise her with something meaningful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set eight years after the battle of the Storm Spire. Callum and Rayla are living together in their home in Silvergrove.

** Gift **

“Ray?” Callum knocked on the bathroom door lightly, “Are you okay in there?” He tried twisting the doorknob, but no avail. The door was locked from inside.

He could faintly hear Rayla gasping and groaning. After a few seconds of silence, he heard stepping around the small room and she opened the door.

Her white hair was messy and it was sticking to her sweaty forehead, her eyes were numb, and she seemed almost weak.

“Ray? What’s wrong, love?”

“I think I ate somethin’ bad.”

“Did you-”

“YES, CALLUM!” She snapped, making Callum take a step back, “I did puke. Ya want me to spell everythin’ out when I’m like this?!” She motioned to her body.

“Sorry, Rayla. I’m just worried about you.” He reached for her hand but she pulled back and glared at him.

“I’m not a porcelain doll. I can take care of myself. Now, I want to be alone. Can ya give me that?” She said, through gritted teeth.

Callum was still a little taken back but nodded and she scoffed before turning to the bed they shared and laying on her side, her face away from Callum.

Complying with his wife’s wishes, he left the room, closing the door before he sighed and ran his hands through his brown hair.

“What the hell did I do this time?” He asked to himself.

He looked back to the door, thinking if it was even smart to go back. He knew that arguing with Rayla when she was sick was the most irrational thing someone could do. It was better for him to just leave some tea for her stomach and let her calm down.

He paced to the kitchen, heating the water and pulling some dry chamomile flowers from the shelf.

He made sure to strain it thoroughly after it was done and put it in Rayla’s favorite teacup.

He slowly opened the door, preparing to have his face assaulted by a pillow thrown by his wife, but Rayla was fast asleep when he came in.

“I think this will get cold before she wakes up.” He whispered before an idea came to his mind.

He set the cup down on the bedside table on the side that Rayla was and his fingers traced a rune above the heated liquid.

 _“Custodi caloris”_ he whispered and the rune glowed for a few seconds before it disappeared into thin air, “There. This should keep this heated until Rayla wakes up.”

Speaking of her, Callum glanced at her. Her mouth was closed in a tight line as she breathed evenly, her chest coming up and down with each of her snores. He sighed and took a strand of her hair off her face and put it behind her pointy ear.

“I don’t know what made you so mad at me, but I’ll make it up.” He whispered and kissed her forehead.

He opened his dresser and grabbed his scarf and coat. The autumn chilly air was finally catching up to him. It seems like six arcana is still not enough to give him immunity to the cold air. _Oh well…_

He took the spare keys off the key holder and left the house, ready to find something to cheer Rayla up.

* * *

“Are ya sure ya didn’t forget any kind of special occasion?”

“I check my journal every day and I didn’t put anything to celebrate today.”

Callum made sure to stop by Tiadrin and Lain’s house on his way to the market. As Rayla’s parents, they were the ones who knew her best. Lain was out hanging out with Runaan, so Callum was hanging out with his mother-in-law.

Callum buried his face in his hands and groaned loudly.

“I just… want her to be okay with me again, y’know? But how can I do that if I have no idea what I did wrong?”

“Well Rayla, when she was a kid, she always opened up more when we gave her gifts. She was always fond of receivin’ all kinds of daggers.” Tiadrin said.

“So, I need to get her a dagger?”

“Not a good idea, honestly. Maybe she’ll use it to cut yer hand off the next time ya two have a fight.” Tiadrin said, not a single hint of a joke in her voice.

“O-Oh.”

“But a gift is a good idea. Get her somethin’ that makes her glad and it will be easier to make her open up to what’s botherin’ her.”

“Right. A gift.” Callum put his hand on his chin, deep in thought.

“Ya do know what Rayla likes, right…?”

“Of course I do! It’s just that in these eight years we’ve been together, I gave her every single gift that is possible.”

“Blades?”

“Yes, on her 17th birthday.”

“Sweets?”

“I gave her some chocolate and moonberry filled truffles for valentine’s day.”

“Clothes?”

“Matching scarf for our second anniversary.”

“Flowers?”

“Got her some roses and melodaisies on last Valentine’s days”

“Art?” Tiadrin tried again.

“She gets a new drawing or painting of her every week basically.”

“Ya’re making this hard for me, Callum.”

Once again Callum groaned loudly.

“Don’t be like that, dear. I’m sure ya’ll find somethin’. And if ya don’t, I’m sure that Rayla won’t be actually mad that ya got her somethin’ that ya’ve already got her. She’s not selfish.”

“I know.” He took a deep calming breath before he cracked a smile to her, “Thanks Tia.”

“Ya’re welcome.”

* * *

“Ray, are you awake?” Callum asked as he knocked on the bedroom door.

 _“Yeah. Come in.”_ She said from inside the room.

Slowly, he opened the door and saw Rayla, her knees to her chest, and the cup of tea on her lips.

“Hey, how… how are you feeling?”

“Better, I think. Thanks… thanks for the tea.” She mumbled before she set the cup on the bedside table and put her chin on top of her knees, a slight pout on her lips, her eyes were washed over with uncertainty. Well, at least she wasn’t shouting at him anymore.

He approached the other side of the bed but didn’t exactly sit on it. Rayla looked at him, her brow arching.

“I-I’ve got you something.” He nervously said.

“What?”

He searched his coat pocket before pulling out a small rectangular box.

He opened to reveal a simple silver necklace with a heart metal heart as a pendant.

“I went to Ethari and talked to him. He helped me make this.”

Rayla took the necklace between her fingers and brushed her fingertips over the shiny surface.

“It’s a locket! You can open it.” He said. Rayla carefully took the pendant between her fingers and opened it.

Her breath hitched.

“Do you remember when we first arrived in Katolis and we went to our first date? And we used your blades to carve our initials on a trunk of a tree? Well…”

The inside of the heart-shaped locket had both of their initials carved, somehow looking exactly how they wrote it eight years ago.

Rayla felt her eyes water.

“Did… did you like it?” He asked, his voice showing how unsure he was.

“Callum… I loved it…” she said, her voice full of emotion, “but why?”

“ _Why_ what?”

“Why did ya get this from Ethari in such a hurry?”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly a hurry, since he told me some weeks ago he started doing some lockets, I just needed to carve the initials inside.”

“What’s the occasion?” she inquired.

“I just wanted to get you something special. And because you seemed very upset with me earlier. This is actually me trying to make things up for whatever I did.” Her eyes fell from his eyes and back to the pendant in her hands.

“I-I can’t accept this.” She said and pushed the necklace to his chest.

“Wait, why?”

“Because… Ya did nothin’ wrong.” She whispered.

“But you backed away every time I tried to touch you, I was sure I did something wrong.”

“No, no. It’s me. I f-fucked it up.” Her eyes were watering.

“What did you do? I’m sure it’s nothing bad, Ray.”

“Callum… I forgot to take my _tea_ after the last full moon night.”

_Last full moon? What did it happen on the last full moon…_

His eyes widened.

“Rayla, are you-”

“I’m pregnant, Callum.” Some tears glistened her long lashes. “I-I was so stressed that mornin’. The adoraburrs from the field raided the kitchen and when I realized that I had missed it, it was already too late. I-I thought that I would get lucky and that this little error would mean nothin’, but when I ran to the bathroom after I felt my breakfast tryin’ to come out, I knew exactly what happened. Then I went to see a healer and they confirmed it. _I_ fucked this up.”

Callum was rendered speechless by her words.

“Ya did nothin’ wrong. There’s no motive for ya to give me such a thoughtful and beautiful gift as an apology.” Rayla felt her will breaking. She needed help. She’d been so lost. And she accidentally pushed away from the person who cared the most about her. She bit her lip to keep her tears inside, but it was getting hard.

And they immediately burst when Callum brought a hand to her cheek and pulled her to a hug.

“Ray… were you scared to tell me this?”

“Terrified.” She mumbled into his shoulder, “Every time we talked about havin’ children, we always decided to wait at least two years into our marriage and until then, we would be careful. I wasn’t and I ruined this.” Callum chuckled, earning a glare from Rayla.

“Oh, Ray.” He racked his fingers through her hair, “Yeah, this is definitely not what we planned, but hey, sometimes accidents create the happiest endings. Like us. We would never be here if it wasn’t on accident. If Ez didn’t stumble on Zym’s egg all these years ago on accident, the war would probably still be going on. If we didn’t accidentally found an old scroll detailing how to undo those coins, three of your parents would probably still be in there. Ray,” he pulled away from her so she could get a good look at him. His eyes were glistening and he had a smile on his lips, “I am going to love being a dad, no matter if this baby was to come now, in a year, ten years or more.”

Rayla wiped away her tears, her cheeks flushed and a shy smile on her lips. Callum closed the distance between them and kissed her lips before playfully peppering her face with them and Rayla giggled.

He reached for the necklace that was still on his hands and put it around Rayla’s neck. He sat behind her as she looked again at the inside of the locket.

“Maybe when the baby is here, we can carve their initials on the same tree and get Ethari to add their initials in here.” Rayla proposed and Callum chuckled happily before planting a kiss on her temple.

“I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, but yeah, it sounds wonderful.” His hands snaked to her belly. Callum almost couldn’t believe that something so special was growing inside her now. She put her own hands over his.

“So, do ya feel ready to be a dad?” She asked, leaning her head back

“Honestly? No. But we’re in this together. Nothing bad can happen.”

“Agreed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you get it? Because Rayla also got him a surprise gift! Lolol  
>  **Next prompt:** Growth


	13. Growth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla never noticed how Callum grew over the years until it hits her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set about two years after season three.  
> Also, this is the one who has more hormones, I believe so. It’s not enough to change the rating from teen to mature, but just a little heads up!
> 
> Also: WE GOT THE SAGA PEEPS!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THE POWER WE HAVE- WE'RE AMAZING AND I'M SO HAPPY WE WERE ABLE TO DO THIS AMAZING FEAT <3333

** Growth **

“Ready for yer first real duel, mage?” Rayla said, twirling a long wooden stick in her hands effortlessly before planting the tip on the stone floor of the courtyard.

Callum was standing a couple of feet in front of him, his blue jacket and scarf nowhere to be seen, leaving the tattoed runes on his arms exposed for anyone to see. He was gripping his own wooden stick as if it was a spear.

Some weeks ago, Rayla had found out that Soren had been using the wrong approach to teach Callum how to fight. He wasn’t good with swords or blades, but rather spears and sticks.

Opeli commented that was probably Sarai’s, Callum’s late mother, influence.

For now, he wasn’t ready to use a real spear with a pointy tip if they didn’t want any other _accidents._ Rayla was sure that Barius was going to take another route when delivering Jelly Tarts to Ezran.

“Y’know I’m always up for a challenge.” He said and separated his legs to do the stance Rayla had taught him. She was proud of him.

“Good, because I’m not backin’ down now.”

“Wait, you were backing down before?”

“Ya can bet yer precious little arcanum on it.” She smirked and noticed how he gulped for a second before taking a deep breath and correcting his posture.

“What does the winner get?”

“They get a massage from the loser. And just so ya know, my back is full of knots, so when ya lose, ya better pamper me.”

“Like I don’t do this already.” He fondly rolled his eyes, a smile gracing his lips. She smiled more at him.

“COME ON!” Soren’s loud voice interrupted their flirting, he was sitting in the wooden bench, a pouch of money in his hand, “I need to know if I’m putting too much faith on Callum.”

“Wait, you’re betting that _I_ am going to win? Against Rayla?” Callum undid his stance to look at the Crownguard.

“Yeah, Soren. Thanks for yer loyalty.” Rayla rolled her eyes.

“This is the first time and there will be no more if you blow this for me. Now, can you two stop this mushy shit and get to the action?” He said, almost through gritted teeth.

Callum and Rayla rolled their eyes and focused on each other again, both now assuming the proper stance to fight.

Rayla took a deep breath and adjusted her grip on the stick and closed her eyes.

“Ready,” A fellow guard started, “set,” he took a few seconds, _“go!”_

Rayla’s violet eyes snapped open and she dodged a clear advance from Callum effortlessly.

“How long for her to defeat him?” A maid asked a guard.

“Probably a minute or so. Prince Callum doesn’t know who’s he’s messing with.”

“Hey! I heard tha-” his protests were interrupted by Rayla running towards him, her arms behind her.

She attempted to hit him a couple of times, but somehow he dodged the attacks, although he clearly almost lost his balance on the first advance from her.

“Ha! I told you!” He tried teasing her, but Rayla wasn’t fazed by this. She already had another strategy.

She tried running to his side. Her plan was clear on her head. Sneak behind him and _sweep the leg_. Easy enough. She’d done countless times to Soren, who was way more physically capable of dodging the attacks of a former elven-assassin who had been training all her life.

But something went wrong. She clearly miscalculated where his shoulder ended. She came down tumbling on him but getting dirty with mud and leaves.

“Shit- Rayla, are you okay?!” Callum asked as Rayla laid flat on the stone ground. She didn’t answer. Her mind was nothing but _what the hell?_

She was used sneaking around Callum, especially when she was in her almost invisible form so what did it go wrong now?

She took a deep breath before sitting up on her knees and rubbing the back of her head where it had hit the floor.

“Aye, just a little sore. And muddy.” She looked down at her clothes.

“Yeah, me too.” He chuckled and helped her get on her feet.

“So… who won?” Soren asked.

“I guess is a… tie?” Callum said, unsure of the result himself.

“But it was so quick! Can’t you two do a rematch?”

“Sorry Soren, but maybe when our clothes and bodies aren’t so muddy and all scratched up?” Rayla said, looking at her hands and sure enough, besides the mud, there were some scratches due the fall. They weren’t deep enough to actually bleed, but enough to show the red of her blood.

“You two are no fun.” Soren huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Don’t be such a baby, Soren. This will give ya time to rethink yer decision of betting that Callum was goin’ to win this.”

“Funny though,” Callum put his thumb and index finger on his chin and he smirked down at her, “ _you_ were the one who actually fell.”

“That doesn’t mean anythin’,” she crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes with a pout sitting on her lips. “Can we get goin’? I don’t want this mud to dry.”

“Sure.” He shrugged his shoulders and they walked away from the courtyard, leaving a very disappointed Soren.

As they walked up the stairs, Callum slung his arm around Rayla’s waist and brought her closer. She smiled and leaned in closer.

“Wait,” she halted just before they entered their room, “if it was a tie, who gets the massage?”

* * *

“Callum, ya’re hoggin’ the bathroom!” Rayla said as she dried her hair with a towel.

_“But you already took your bath!”_

“Doesn’t mean ya can stay in there for over half an hour!”

She heard him groan inside the bathroom and she snickered as she rubbed the soft towel through her locks. She dried her horns and shook her head, the bangs falling over her face.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Sometimes Rayla forgot how much she grew in the past couple of years. She definitely was starting to look more like an elven woman like her mother. Her horns had grown as they should but they’re probably stopping soon. Her body was more slender, curves here and there. And then there was her hair. It was long enough to reach down her shoulder blades, it never got that long before.

“Sweet Garlath, I need a haircut.” She said, trying to comb the thin hairs between her fingers.

The door of their private bathroom slung open, Callum was only wearing a towel around his waist, his hair wet. He approached the dresser and pulled out clean clothes after he put the dirty and muddy ones in the cleaning basket.

He turned to the opaque folding screen standing in the corner of the room and changed his clothes there.

Rayla continued combing through her hair with her fingers while he changed his privacy.

As she tried to make her hair look good, Callum stepped out from behind the screen, his towel around his shoulders.

“So,” he started, “since it was a tie, we both get to be pampered, right?”

“Aye, but I’m bein’ pampered first. Like I said, knots on my back.”

“Got it.” He said with a chuckle. He approached her from behind and took her hand, leading her to the edge of the bed. Rayla sat on the edge of the mattress, her legs in the tailor position as she peeled off the wet towel from her shoulders.

Rayla was wearing a dark teal halter top tied on her nape she usually wore to bed in hot summer days just like these. Part of her back was exposed, hence why she never used it out of the bedroom. Opeli would go over a lecture on _dress code_ and how a _lady_ shouldn’t wear things like these.

“Just so you know, I’ve never done any of this, so… don’t expect too much of me.” He said as he sat behind her.

“Just go with yer instinct. Ya can do pretty good when ya follow them.”

Callum’s hands finally touched her shoulder blades and she immediately relaxed, closing her eyelids. He started applying gentle pressure with his fingertips, tracing slow, circular patterns up and down the sides of her spine.

She let out a soft sigh when she felt the knots on her back being undone one by one.

After a few more relaxing strokes, he started applying more firm pressure with his entire hand, beginning at the lower back, slowly stroking all the way up to the neck, then all the way back down again.

Rayla opened her eyes and saw their reflection in the mirror. Callum’s tongue was poking out as he tried to do his best. He was cute.

“Am I doing okay?” he asked when he noticed she had her eyes open.

“Hmm… great.” She said with a content sigh

Callum chuckled and kissed her nape directly above her spine that sent sparks and shivers down her body.

“You’re gorgeous, Ray.” He mumbled to her skin, his eyes directly looking at the mirror, meeting her gaze making her skin heat.

His fingers didn’t stop, though his lips were still on her skin.

He applied more pressure with the heel of his hands from the upper back, then moving up and back toward the center. He worked his way all the way up her back before his strokes got gentler and gentler.

“How does it feel?” he asked, his lips finally leaving the back of her neck.

Rayla still had goosebumps, but she was able to rotate her waist slightly and let out a final sigh of relief.

“Fuck ya, Callum. Ya told me ya never did this!”

“I-I didn’t! I swear! Maybe I’ve done some reading years ago and my muscle memory is acting up now, but you’re the first person I actually do a massa-”

Rayla had to shut him up with a kiss. Slow, passionate.

“I’m not doubtin’ ya, just impressed with those skills of yers.” She giggled before bopping his nose. “Now it’s your turn. Get comfy.” She took the towel off his shoulders and took the one she was just using.

She dropped the towel in the laundry basket of the room.

“Alright, now let’s do this-” she turned to face her boyfriend and he was tugging the clasps of his katolian-red velvet tunic.

Her cheeks heated at the scene before her.

“W-What are ya doing?!”

“Well, I can’t exactly get a proper massage if my back isn’t exposed.” He explained and took the rest of the clothing out.

Rayla didn’t know why she was blushing so hard. She’d seen Callum shirtless before when they went to a beach in Duren a year ago.

Sure, she didn’t enter the water at all, but she was paying very close attention to Callum. Her heart swelled when he built a very nice sand sculpture of her. He looked happy when she told him that she _thought it was sweet._

“Rayla, if you’re not comfortable, you don’t need to return the massage. You were the one who needed it most and you’re done. I’m okay as long as _you_ ’re okay.”

“No, ya deserve some relaxation too.” She tried to suppress her embarrassment and took a deep calming breath.

Callum folded his tunic and put it beside him as Rayla sat behind him.

She tried to do the same thing he’d done on her back. Callum closed his eyes as Rayla’s fingers did their job.

As soon as she started to feel more comfortable with touching his bareback, she took a glance at him in the mirror and Rayla finally understood why she failed during the sparring session earlier.

Callum’s shoulders were broader now, not as much as one of a grown and very athletic man, but she was sure that the years of flying and practicing magic made him get at least a swimmer build. He didn’t have a defined six-pack, but she could see some faint outlines where they would be if Callum was older and probably more athletic.

She sighed and tried to focus her attention on doing her best, untying the few knots she found.

But of course, she failed, because not a minute later, her attention went to his arms where the runes for _Manus Pluma Volantis_ were tattoed.

She turned her attention to his face in the mirror. Eyes still closed, breathing evenly as she worked her magic on her back. His hair was still messy and fluffy because of the bath.

_Sweet Garlath, he was handsome._

She let out an audible sigh and Callum snapped his eyes open.

“You okay?”

“Y-Yeah. Just…”

_You’re gorgeous, Ray._

She remembered his words and smirked before kissing his neck.

“Ray-”

“You’re handsome, Callum.” She mumbled against his skin. His skin felt hot all of a sudden under her touch.

“I had that coming, didn’t I?” he inquired, a nervous chuckle accompanying his words.

“Aye.” She said and her movements got gentler until they stopped and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “But _I do_ think ya’re handsome. I’m always soft for guys who like magic and are very thoughtful, but still, manage to be amazingly strong.” One of her hands squeezed her arms.

“Well, _I do_ think you’re gorgeous too. The elven girl who is very tough but still manages to have a heart of gold? Sign me in.”

She smiled and snuggled further to his neck, a smile creeping up her features as she peppered his neck with light kisses.

Callum smiled and held her hand that was hanging loosely around his torso.

“I love you.” He whispered.

“Love ya too, ya amazin’ mage.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, teen hormones, pining!Rayla having an inner monologue on how her boyfriend is amazing? The goods here folks.  
>  **Next Prompt:** Date Night


	14. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum has a very important question to ask Rayla, so he takes her on a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set six years after the end of season three.

** Date Night **

“Callum, can ya tell me where we are goin’?”

“I told you already, Rayla! It’s a surprise!”

“Well, ya should know already that I don’t like surprises. Just tell me what it is already!”

“You’ll see!” he chuckled and pulled her closer to him as they navigated through the sea of trees and bushes.

They were running when Callum finally skidded to a halt stopping when he saw thick vines in a big stone.

“This way!” He let go of her hand and parted the thick vines, revealing some kind of hidden tunnel. Rayla followed his suit. “We’re here!” He said and Rayla took a look around the place after she went through yet another thick vine curtain.

Her breath hitched in her throat.

They were at the edge of a hidden cliff. In the distance, you could see the Katolis castle. The ground was covered in a rainbow of flowers. A picnic sheet was spread on the ground near the end of the cliff and a basket was in the middle of it.

“Callum...” she tried saying something but couldn’t. She didn’t know why this was so important to her. Callum had done hundreds of dates for her that left her speechless, but this one? It somehow made her feel different - _a good different -_ as if something and the occasion were different, but she couldn’t really pinpoint what it was.

“Do you like it?” he asked and she almost wanted to slap his insecurities from his face.

“Callum, this is amazin’.”

“It took me a while to find this spot again.” He took her hand and led her to the sheet, “My mom and I used to come here before she became Queen. We would spend all day whispering silly things and make each other laugh.” They sat on the cloth, “After she became Queen, we didn’t come here anymore. I almost didn’t remember this place if it wasn’t by the old drawing I made of the horizon.”

He opened the basket and took out a bottle of moonberry wine.

“Does Ezran know about this place?” Rayla asked as Callum poured the red liquid on their glasses.

“No, you’re the first to come here with me in over 15 years.”

Rayla’s heart fluttered as she blushed.

“Thank ya for sharin’ this place with me. It means a lot that ya trust me like this.” She lightly caressed his hand.

“Ray... Of course I trust you! You’re the love of my life.” His eyes softened and she leaned in for a kiss.

She was stopped by his finger on her lips.

“Not yet. I have another surprise for you.” He took a sip of the wine before setting his glass down and reaching for the liner basket.

“Callum is that-” she asked as she saw what he got out.

“Earthblood honey cheesecake with sun-kissed fruit syrup.”

“It’s one of my favorites!” She said, her eyes glistening.

“I know, that’s why I flew to get this when I heard some Earthblood vendors were selling them in Duren.”

“Did ya really go all the way to Duren just to get this for me?”

“Yes and I don’t regret it.” He sliced the cake with a knife and put it on a plate for both of them. Rayla wished she could thank Callum enough for what he did for her.

* * *

The sun started to set behind the Katolis castle and fireflies appeared as the sky started got dark, illuminating the cliff.

Callum and Rayla were cuddling, their backs against the bark of the only tree of the cliff. Callum’s arm was slung across her shoulders as Rayla leaned on him, her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of being stuffed with a little bit of wine and one of her favorite foods in the world.

Callum was too enjoying the feeling, but he was focusing more on her than anything else.

Callum suddenly felt some energy surging through him and by the way he felt Rayla’s skin heat at the same time, he knew what it was.

He looked up to the sky and sure enough, the full moon was there, shining brightly.

“It’s a full moon tonight...” she mumbled, her eyes still closed.

“Yes, did you forget?”

“Not really, I’m just losin’ track of time in the last few months.” She opened her eyes and got up from the ground and went to the edge of the cliff, bathing in the light.

Callum suppressed the instinct to worry about her and a _cliff’s edge_ , but she stopped still a few feet away from the actual edge and he let out a sigh of relief.

Rayla closed her eyes and opened her arms, a smile gracing her lips. The moonlight made her skin almost glow. Her hair was swaying in the wind and Callum was sure it _was_ glowing like a heavenly veil.

Callum never doubted it but Rayla was beautiful, gorgeous, dazzling. Every day he spent with her, he was more sure of that than ever.

“Callum! Come over here and enjoy this!” she said, not bothering to turn to look at him.

The prince chuckled and got up from the floor but stopped behind her. Rayla noticed when his steps stopped and she chuckled, still facing the moon.

“I’ll hold yer hand if that’s what ya’re worried about. Now come her-” She turned to him and Callum was on one knee, a metal box with intricate designs was open and inside, a red and small cushion with a pair of silver horn cuffs with a single emerald and a single silver ring, also with a single emerald encrusted on it.

Rayla saw Callum take a deep breath.

“Rayla I-” he started “Shit- I had this whole speech prepared but I-I forgot and- Fuck, sorry-”

“Callum, what are ya-” She said, her hands shaking.

“Let me end this Rayla, please.” He took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

“Rayla, I love you. I told you this more times than I could count. The night we left the midnight desert six years ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about how happy I was with you and how badly I wanted to spend my life right beside you.” He was trying his best to keep his voice from shaking, “So I went to Ethari months ago and he helped me make these. Make them just as special as you.” His voice was threatening to break as he tightened his grip on the box holding the cuffs.

_Now the one million gold coins question._

“Rayla, will you please, please, _with a moonberry on top_ , marry me and make me feel that way every _single_ day?”

Rayla was silent up to that moment where she felt her eyes watering.

“Sweet moon spirits, is that a question?”

“I-I mean, kinda? Oh shit- do you think th-that I’m imposing this on you? Rayla, I swear it’s not that-”

“Yes.” She said without waiting for him to finish his sentence.

“Wait. Is that a _yes, ‘I will marry you’_ or a ‘ _yes, I do think you’re imposing this on me’_?”

_“What do ya think?”_

“Can you just answer this-”

“Callum, of course I’ll marry ya, stop freakin’ out.” She said, putting a finger to his lips to shut him up.

His shaky lips turned into a happy smile as he finally let the tears down. He set the box down on the grass and ran to Rayla’s arms. He lifted her and spun her in the air while peppering her face and neck with kisses, making her giggle and snort adorably.

He finally put her on the ground, her feet almost stumbling on the silver box.

“Can ya help me put these on?” she asked, her hands still on his neck.

“With pleasure.” He reached down for the box and took out the cuffs. She bowed her head and he put them on. She brought her hand up to the cuffs.

“Is a little tight...” She said.

“Oh. I guess we can go to Ethari and have him adjust them and tell your parents, the two remaining at least.”

“Wait, I get that Ethari does know, but what about Runaan?”

“He walked on me explaining to Ethari how I would propose to you...”

“Oh. How did he react to it?”

“Let’s just say that I had trouble sleeping for the rest of the week I stayed on Silvergrove thinking he would murder me in my slumber.” He said scratching the back of his neck.

“That does sound like him...” her eyes strayed to the box in his hand, the ring still inside. “Uh, what is that for?”

“The ring is basically the human’s version of horn cuffs since we don’t have horns.”

“And ya put them on yer finger?” Callum nodded.

Rayla reached for the box and took the small thing between her fingers. She reached for Callum’s right hand.

“Rayla, that’s not the hand you put the engagement ring on.” Callum said, almost laughing.

“Wait, there’s a specific finger for an engagement ring?”

“Yeah, and is on the left hand, not the right one.” Rayla huffed and reached for his other hand and stared blankly at his five fingers before reaching for the index finger.

“Rayla, that’s not-”

“JUST TELL ME WHICH ONE IS! Ya humans have ten of these little shits!” He chuckled and wiggled his ring finger. Rayla rolled her eyes and put it on. Callum brought his hand closer to his face and a goofy smile on his face. He leaned to kiss her, now on her lips.

He put a hand at her nape and he let go of the silver box so his other could reach her lower back meanwhile both of her hands came up to hold his face tenderly, deepening the kiss.

Soon they pulled away, but their foreheads were still touching.

“Callum, can I tell ya somethin’?”

“Yes.”

“In Moonshadow culture, gettin’ on one knee in front of yer partner is a common pose elves do before breakin’ up their romantic relationship.” His eyes widened.

“Are you serious? Rayla I’m so sorry-” She started giggling like a teenager.

“I always forget how easy ya are to make fun of.”

“Wait, so it’s not a real thing?”

“Of course not, ya dingus!” She wiped away a tear of laughter in the corner of her eye.

“Now, come here you little-” he tried to tackle her down, but Rayla was still way more physically stronger than him, so she easily fought back. They ended up falling on the soft grass and rolling over each other, Callum on top and Rayla beneath him.

They laughed and Callum supported his weight by putting one of his hands on each side of Rayla’s head. Rayla looked up and smiled and put her hands on his nape.

“I love you Rayla. I really do.” He said, his voice full of emotion. Her smile got bigger.

“I love ya too, Callum.” They both met for a kiss.

They had a beautiful future ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3  
>  **Next Prompt:** Timeskip


	15. Timeskip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum tries to connect to the Star Arcanum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set almost five years after the battle of the storm spire.  
>  **Disclaimer:** This chapter is very lore-based of my own theories about Aaravos, Magic, Dark Magic, and Xadian Mythology. These are not confirmed theories.  
> Also, I had no idea where I wanted to go with this prompt, but hopefully, it’s not as bad as I think it is-  
> P.s: I was reminded by one of my friends that this is awfully similar to another rayllum work they read. I vaguely remember reading something similar but I don't remember the author or the name. If anyone does remember it, please be sure to drop the link in the comments because I'm sure my brain sneakily put some things from there in here xD  
> Update: The fanfic is [Love is Magic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23400499) by LobsterMobster!

** Timeskip **

“We’re here.” Callum asked as he stared at the ruins of the former Star nexus. If he thought the ruins of an abandoned city were bad, this was nothing compared to them.

He had seen drawings of what the place used to be. A big and circular hall with a big dome above. Every single glass pane of the dome showed a different part of the universe. The ground sparkled during the night.

Now? The ground was shattered, showing a deep hole into the ground that seemed to have no end. Only a few parts of the dome were still standing, the other had probably fallen into the dark abyss beneath.

“This is the place we saw in that book?” Rayla said, her eyes glazed with sorrow.

“Yeah.” Callum let the wind blow his hair.

“What even happened here?”

“Aaravos did.” Callum's voice darkened as he talked about the elf, “As one of the First Elves, he was supposed to lead this Nexus and guide all the Startouch elves. But he ended up harvested all of his most powerful pupils to gain enough power to connect to the five other arcana.”

“But he still needed to harvest elves of the other five arcana to do so, right?” Rayla asked.

“Yeah. That’s what happened to the other First Elves.” Rayla’s face completely soured. “After that, he introduced the concept of Dark Magic and harvesting magic out of magic creatures to obtain magic.”

“Then Sol Regem was blinded by a dark mage, Luna Tebris took over as the war started. When the humans finally told that Aaravos was the one who gave them Dark Magic, he was imprisoned by Avizandum under the former Dragon Queen’s command.”

“Good riddance.” She practically spat her words.

Callum let out a deep breath before turning to Rayla.

“Let’s find somewhere close to set up camp before the sun starts to set.” He offered his hand to her and she nodded before interlocking fingers with him.

* * *

They didn’t have to look much.

Sure, there was a big hole for most of the mountain terrain, but there were some still untouched parts.

Rayla and Callum set their tent and set up a fire, waiting for the sun to set so Callum could finally try. Try to connect with his 6th and final arcanum. He buried his face in his arms, looking intensely to the fire.

He heard Rayla’s steps in the snowy ground and she stopped behind him before wrapping a blanket around his shoulders.

“Get warm. I don’t want ya freezin’ because ya’re too worried about whatever.”

“Thank you, Ray.” He turned back to look at her and hugged her. She returned it, her caress warming his body more than any blanket or fire.

They pulled away, but Rayla didn’t leave him. She sat by his side as Callum offered a snuggle with the blanket.

Her hand caressed his’ and he tightened his grip around her shoulders.

“Thank you for being here with me.” He said, kissing the side of her head.

“Of course. I’ve been with ya every time ya connected to an arcanum.”

“It’s true. When I discovered the Sky Arcanum, you were there. You were there at the new moon ceremony years ago. The attack to the Earth-Nexus you were there fighting with me. When I got purified by Sun magic, you were the one who I first saw when I woke up.”

“Promise me again ya’re never goin’ to do that? I don’t like rememberin’ how I worried for yer life I was.” She interrupted his babbling and threw a sad look at him. He kissed her forehead and she didn’t comment on anything more. She knew what it meant.

He cleared his throat before continuing his story.

“You were there when I finally understood the Ocean arcanum. And now you’re here with me.”

“Aye, ya’re stuck with me, ya big dumb human.” She closed her eyes and snuggled further into his chest, resting her face into the crook of his neck.

Callum smiled and closed his eyes too.

* * *

Callum had no idea he had fallen asleep until he opened his eyes and saw the dying fire in front of him and the sky was already as dark as it could be. He had to hurry.

He tried moving, but he felt Rayla’s soft snores on his neck.

“Shit-” he cursed low as a whisper to not wake her up. With as much care to not wake her up, he slung his arms around her back and under her legs, carrying her bridal style to the tent. It was a new moon, so Rayla was more tired than usual, which made his job easier.

Softly, he put her under the covers of the sleeping bag and closed. She stirred subconsciously when his warmth went missing from his body and he felt slightly guilty by leaving her alone. But it was needed. He kissed her forehead before exiting the tent.

* * *

Callum faced the deep abyss in front of him. If during the light of day, it seemed to have no end, during the night, it seemed to be just a black hole, waiting to suck him forever into the void.

His anxiety was taking the best of him. He needed to be strong. Be brave.

“ _To know something truly and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart. Mind, body, and spirit._ ” He echoed the words his mom used to say to him when he was growing up. It always seemed to calm him, just like his mom used to do. And it was these words that saved him all these five years ago. He looked up to the sky, the stars shining brightly, and took a deep breath before a relieved smile took over his features. “Thanks, mom.” He whispered into the night.

He stared back into the void just ahead of him. If what he had learned was true, those worthy of the Stars could walk the path and meet clarity. He didn’t know what this so said _clarity_ was.

But he had to trust it. Trust that he was ready for this.

He braced himself if he fell into the void, the words _manus pluma volantis_ already on the tip of his tongue.

He took the first step, his eyes closed.

He didn’t fall. He opened his eyes and saw the black void underneath him, but he seemed to be standing in an invisible flooring.

“Yes!” he said under his breath and continued walking to the center.

It took him a while to notice but as he walked into the center of the former hall, the void didn’t seem so dark anymore. Stars glistened underneath his feet as if he was walking in space.

He reached the center in no time. But nothing happened.

“Uh… hello? Human that could walk above an endless void here?” he shouted to the night sky, hoping it would answer him, but all he found were the stars sitting up there, mocking him. “Something is supposed to happen! I came this far! Please! Just give me an _answer!_ ” he shouted to whatever God was supposed to be listening to him, but he got nothing.

He was losing his patience. He couldn’t wait another month, another moonless night to try to connect to this damn arcanum. There were lives in danger. Lives that only _he_ could save.

“GODDAMMIT! I just want to seek the truth! I’m not like him! I’m not like _Aaravos!”_

The name was like acid to his tongue. But it also seemed to anger whoever was listening to him, because the _“ground”_ beneath him started to shake.

“Shitshitshit!” he put both of his arms in front of him, “ _Manus pluma volant-”_

He wasn’t able to finish the spell before the ground beneath him disappeared completely and he fell into the void.

* * *

At first, he had no idea where he was. The place was really foggy, smoke everywhere and he felt a sense of déjavù.

The fog started to clear and he could finally see where he was.

He was at the last step of the small set of stairs that led to a porch of a house. And on the horizon, he could faintly see the tall grass of the adoraburr field. He could faintly hear the chirping.

But in all of the visits to Silvergrove and the Adoraburr field, there was never a porch or a house. So where was he-

_“Stop that Elara!”_

_“Why are ya such a stick in the mud, Aither?!”_

Callum saw the door of the porch open and two kids, a boy with brown hair and violet eyes under the lenses of his round glasses that didn’t seem to be older than twelve and a girl with white hair and green eyes that didn’t seem to be older than ten. Both of them had elven markings on their faces, and horns sticking out of their heads, though the boy had dark blue horns and the girl had stubby black horns. Their ears were considerably less pointy than a regular elf’s ear.

“Just let me read my book in peace, Elara! Ya can go to grandpa Ethari’s house alone!”

“I’m nine! C’mon! Just this once!”

_Grandpa Ethari? Wait a minute-_

_“Elara, leave yer brother alone!”_ he could recognize that voice anywhere.

Rayla stepped into the porch, clearly years older than the one he had left inside the tent, though not less beautiful.

“Sorry, mum.” The girl said, her voice low as she played with a loose thread of her small scarf.

“And Aither,” She turned to look at the boy, who adjusted his glasses and straightened his back, “ya could’ve taken yer sister to Ethari’s. There is no need for ya two to fight.” She said, her voice firm, “Now, what do we say to each other?”

“I’m sorry.” The two kids said in unison.

“Very good. Now, Elara, go back inside and change yer clothes, I’ll take ya to Ethari’s.”

“Really?!” Rayla nodded, “Ya’re the best mum in the world!” she hugged Rayla’s middle section and ran inside the house, being followed by the boy not much later.

Rayla let out a sigh before Callum saw someone wrap their arms around her.

His breath hitched when he saw an older version of himself putting his chin her shoulder after kissing her cheek.

“What was it this time?”

“Just Elara bein’ herself and Aither bein’ himself too.” She chuckled, putting her hands over his.

“Did mom put them in their proper place?”

“Ya make me sound like a dictator or somethin’.” She rolled her eyes.

“Well, this house goes by your rules, so yeah.”

“Very funny, _mage._ ” She said and kissed him, now on the lips. Present-day Callum had to avert his eyes. Maybe he understood Ezran and his protests now. They pulled apart and Rayla smiled before unwrapping his hands off her middle section. “C’mon, let’s go back inside and check on them, see if they found another thin’ to fight.” She chuckled, pulling him inside.

The door to the porch closed behind and the fog started to reappear, covering everything until Callum couldn’t see a thing. He felt a slight headache reaching his head and everything went black again.

* * *

Callum felt… nothing.

He didn’t feel like he was falling anymore, but it certainly didn’t seem like he had landed either. It almost felt like he was flying, but he didn’t need to keep flapping his wings.

He cracked one of his eyes open and saw stars around him, a supernatural ache to touch them overcame him, but he didn’t dare to.

 _“What are you doing here?”_ a mystical voice called from the starry void. He looked in the direction and saw a barely visible elf looking at him. It was a woman, horns curled, long hair, and a dress that made her seem like royalty.

“Who are you?”

 _“I asked first.”_ She retorted.

“I- I am Callum. I’m here to connect to the Stars arcanum.”

_“Aren’t you just a human?”_

“Yes, but I’ve successfully connected to the other five arcana in almost five years and I walked above a void to get here!” She didn’t respond. “I’ve answered your questions, what’s your name? Who are you?”

_“Those are very different questions.”_

“Just answer!”

 _“I have no name anymore, I am nothing but the direct line between the physical world and the Goddess of the Stars, Aella the Truth Seeker.”_ She answered, her expression not changing a bit.

“Why did she send you?”

_“You profaned the ruins of the Nexus by saying the name of her firstborn.”_

“Firstborn? You mean Aara-”

Callum caught himself when her expression finally changed. Her eyes glazed with anger that scared him.

 _“Do not. You will suffer the consequences by uttering_ his _name.”_ Callum nodded and kept his mouth shut.

“Can I ask you about what I just saw?”

_“A glimpse into the future.”_

“So that’s my future? For real?!” he couldn’t contain his excitement.

_“Future is a fleeting thing. You may choose to eat something tomorrow, that will derange from the vision you just saw, after all, there are millions of possibilities for your future.”_

“And only I can decide where it goes?”

 _“Precisely.”_ She said and the corner of her lips slightly curled before going back to her deadpanned expression, _“If you had the connection, how would you use it?”_

“My goal is to teach magic to other humans! Show them that there’s another way besides Dark Magic! I want to help humans, elves, whoever needs it! And I know there are people out there who need my help! And I can only do so by having this Arcanum!” He took a deep breath before he got ahead of himself, “Please.” His voice softened.

The elf approached him, height difference making Callum have to look up to meet her eyes directly.

_“You do not need me to give you the Arcanum.”_

“Uh- yes I do. Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

_“You do not need me to give you the Arcanum, because you already have it.”_

“What?” he inquired.

_“The vision of the future you saw? The supernatural ache to connect physically and learn about the stars in this void? You already had the Arcanum in you once you crossed the void where the former Nexus was located. You just needed to spark that connection.”_

“So this discussion has been for nothing?”

 _“Of course not. I could have ended that connection if I sensed you had the wrong intentions with the Arcanum, but you do not.”_ Callum couldn’t help but beam at her. _“I see the good in you, Callum.”_

“Thank you.” Callum breathed.

 _“Hopefully, we’ll meet again.”_ The elf bowed, her gentle smile not fading.

And with a snap of her gentle fingers, everything went black again.

* * *

_“Callum? Callum!”_

His eyes snapped open and lurched his body forward. Rayla was by his side and he was currently laying on the snowy ground of the

“What? Ray-” Rayla hugged him before he could end his sentence.

“Oh thank Garlath ya’re okay!” She let go of him and caught him by his cheeks to bring him to a deep kiss. Callum’s eyes were open and wide, but they soon closed and he corresponded the kiss with as much passion as her.

When they finally pulled apart, Rayla leaned her forehead against his’.

“I was _so_ worried about ya, ya dumb human. Why didn’t ya wake me up when ya went to the Nexus?”

“You were just tired because of the New Moon, you needed your rest.”

“It doesn’t matter! I wanted to at least watch ya from the sidelines, check if ya were goin’ to be okay!” She said brushing her thumb pads against his cheek delicately.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized.

“It’s alright, ya’re fine, that’s all that matters.” She kissed his forehead. Callum almost melted into her touch. “So, what happened? Did ya do it?”

“Yeah, I did.” He said, relieved that this hunt was finally over.

“Did ya see anythin’ interestin’?”

“Actually, yes! I talked to a Startouch elf, but before that, I saw-” he stopped himself. He was sure of what he saw. He clearly remembers the elf and him talking about a said _glimpse of the future_ but he had no idea what it was. It was like a clouded smoke over his mind. “I don’t remember.”

Rayla looked at him concerned for a moment before she wrapped her arms around him again.

“It’s alright, ya dummy. I’m sure it wasn’t that important anyway.”

Though he couldn’t remember what he saw, the warmth of Rayla’s body and voice assured him more than any other cosmic truth he could now understand.

“Yeah, I’m sure of it too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter featured my two Rayllum babies: Aither who’s a sky mage prodigy under Callum’s wing (Aither comes from the Greek Mythology and it means _Spirit of Air_ ). Elara was born connected more to the moon than sky. She dreams of working for the Dragonguard like her grandparents once did (Elara also comes from the Greek Mythology and it’s the name of one of the moons of Jupiter).  
> Thanks for reading and I’ll see y’all in two days when I finally end this lovely month <3  
>  **Next (and final) Prompt:** Rayla’s Birthday


	16. Rayla's Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On Rayla’s 16th birthday, she tries at maximum to not think about the traditions she used to do, but Callum makes it hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final prompt is here, ladies, gentlemen, and enbyfolk! I’ll be mushier at the endnotes, but for now, enjoy <3

** Rayla’s Birthday **

Rayla wasn’t sure why she woke up before sunrise. Well, that was a lie. She knew why she woke up before the sun was even out. It was her birthday. Ever since her parents started working for the Dragonguard, she would receive a letter from them on her birthday, always at 6 am sharp.

But now? She was quietly reading some of the old letters she got from her past birthdays. Ethari had sent those to the castle a week ago along with all of her most important things. She had refused to read them. Until now.

Her hand gripped the paper as she read every single one of them.

_Happy 10 th Birthday, Rayla!_

_Happy 11 th Birthday, Ray!_

_Happy 12 th Birthday, sweetie!_

_Happy 13 th birthday, baby girl!_

_Happy 14 th birthday, love!_

_Happy 15 th birthday, moonlight!_

The tears threatened to escape as she read the final line.

_We love you so so so much, my darling. Congratulations on being such an incredible daughter for us and Runaan and Ethari._

Always the same, never changing. Except for the one of last year.

_P.S. We talked with the Dragon Queen and next year, you won’t be receiving a letter, but you’ll finally see us! We can’t wait, our hearts are full just thinking about your smile. We love you and miss you every single day._

Yeah. She didn’t receive a letter. That was the only truth of the matter.

She wiped a tear from her cheek.

She had to control her feelings. Callum was sleeping like a baby just a few feet from her. And he had an instinct of waking up every time she felt slightly bad. She couldn’t explain it.

Most of the days, she would be aching for curling up in his arms, and while he told her that everything was going to be okay while he raked his fingers through her hair and occasionally kissed her head.

But she didn’t feel like sharing this with him. She never told him about the letters. It didn’t seem like important.

_It wasn’t._

She just needed to sleep in and forget about her birthday.

Yeah. That was going to work.

* * *

It didn’t. She should’ve thought that she wasn’t going to be able to sleep again after crying about her parents for almost an hour.

So she decided to just close her eyes and let herself be hugged by Callum’s arms. It usually calmed her, but her mind was a complete whirlwind.

She groaned and buried her face on the soft pillow, immediately regretting as Callum stirred and groaned too. She silently hoped it wouldn’t wake him up. She stayed completely still until Callum ceased his unconscious movements.

Eventually, he seemed to go back to his dreams and she sighed in relief. She didn’t want to bother him with this and if she was being honest with herself, she hoped Callum would forget about her birthday completely and just go on as a normal day. No heartbreaks, no missing letter from missing parents.

She turned to look at the window and saw the sun slowly rising above the horizon line. In some mornings, this would’ve given her hope of a new day where things were supposed to be better. But not today.

The only git she wanted today was… nothing.

* * *

Something was… weird.

No one in the castle had greeted her about her birthday yet. Sure, the maids and castle servants were still a little off about an elf living with them, so she didn’t expect much from them. But not even Ezran acknowledged her birthday. Soren was acting weird when he saw her on the courtyard, but that was normal at this rate.

But the most shocking thing? Callum hadn’t talked about it all day.

She at first thought he had been able to hear her thoughts about how her birthday was draining her, but if there was something Callum wasn’t was a mind reader.

Maybe he did forget? It would still be weird. He spent the whole week keeping tabs of her birthday on his sketchbook, though he had no idea she knew about it.

Well, she shouldn’t be complaining in the first place. That’s what she wanted. A normal day without the ceremony and reminders of her past birthdays. She had learned very young to never look a gift shadowpaw in the mouth. She wasn’t going to start doing it today out of all days.

* * *

“Hey, Ray!” Callum called her from across the empty courtyard.

She looked up from her blades and whetstone and smiled at him. Flipping her blade back into the sheath and putting her whetstone away in her pocket, she stood up from the bench and met him halfway.

He kissed her cheek affectionately, making her skin redden. He grasped her hands with his and looked into her eyes.

“Can you come with me real quick? I need your help with something.” He inquired.

“Don’t ya have like dozens of servants to help ya?”

“Yeah, but I like you better than any handmaid or squire.” He shot back making her giggle, “Also, Opeli asked me to get you. She didn’t exactly give me the details.”

“Really…?” She raised her brown questioningly.

“Yep.”

“Alright... but we need to be quick. I told Soren I was goin’ to teach him the benefits of sweepin’ the leg but apparently, he’s late for this.”

“I promise it’s going to be as quick as lightning.” He tugged her by the hand as they walked away from the courtyard.

* * *

“So, the thin’ Opeli asked ya is in the dinin’ hall?”

“Yep!” He put both of his hands on the golden handle of the big doors that lead to the dining hall, “I told you Rayla, it’s going to be quick.” He pushed the doors open and all that she saw was a dark room, no light source at all.

“Callum, I can’t see shi-”

“ ** _SURPRISE!_** ” A dozen different voices screamed when the room was finally flooded with light.

Rayla instinctively pulled out her butterfly blades before her mind caught up with the scene before her eyes.

A banner with words _Happy Birthday Rayla!_ was hanging on the wall. On the table there was a teal cover, a moonberry anniversary cake with fifteen candles was in the center of the table, surrounded by other birthday treats.

Ezran was standing on his royal chair, Bait on his hands glowing faintly. Soren, Opeli, Corvus, Gren, General Amaya, Barius, Marcos, and some other royal guards that had warmed up to Rayla quickly were all standing around Ezran’s chair and under the banner. They all had smiles on their faces.

“What-”

“Surprise Rayla!” Ezran said, his voice cheerful. Bait croaked lightly. “You really thought we forgot your birthday, right?”

“Aye, but-”

“Well, we can all agree that I was the one who kept the secret better.” Soren said, crossing his arms in front of his armored chest.

“Are you serious?” Corvus intervened, “You saw her this morning and almost freaked out when you let out ‘happy bi-’ and you had to turn it to _‘happy biscuit’._ ”

“I don’t remember that and you have no proof that I have ever said such a thing.” Soren said, not bothering to look at Corvus, his smug smile not vanishing. Corvus only rolled his eyes.

 _“Well, I didn’t do a very good job of hiding it.”_ Amaya signed and Gren translated “why do you say that, general?” She chuckled, _“I told her the whole thing-”_

“AUNT AMAYA! WHY?” Callum screamed.

_“No need to shout, Callum. She didn’t get it.”_

“How is that possible? Unless you were speaking a whole different language- _oh._ ”

“So that’s why you started signing to Rayla when you saw her earlier!” Ezran said in realization as his aunt chuckled at her own joke.

“Anyway…” Callum cleared his throat and turned to Rayla, “Did you like the surprise?”

“I-I-” She tried to grasp any words.

“This is the first time I see Rayla speechless! Nice job us! She must have loved it!” Soren said.

“Soren, why don’t we let Rayla tell us what she thinks!” Callum suggested, turning his body away from her. The blonde’s eyes went wide. “What? Impressed for me standing up for my girlfriend?”

“No, that’s not it! Rayla she-”

“Stop trying to guess what she thinks Soren!” Callum shot back.

“I _can’t_ guess what she thinks!”

“Because you’re bad at reading people?” the prince suggested.

_“BECAUSE SHE’S GONE, CALLUM!”_

Callum’s eyes widened and he looked back at where she was standing just a moment ago.

She had vanished.

* * *

Rayla tried to keep her sobs quiet. She really didn’t want to reveal her location to anyone. But it was starting to get rather difficult.

She wiped a tear from her eye and buried her sobs in her arms.

She shouldn’t have stormed off like that. But she couldn’t help it. The moonberry cake, the banner, everyone happy for being her birthday. All of it was too similar to her usual birthdays. Before everything went down.

She sobbed again and her cheeks were now almost entirely damp. Her eyes were probably as red as a moonberry, her nose was stuffy, her mouth tasted like death.

Garlath, she just wanted a break from everything.

“Rayla!” Callum’s voice alerted her. She looked down from the column she was sitting on top of. He was scanning the corridor thoroughly, but not bothering to look up, “I don’t know what made you upset but I’m sure we can talk this out. Was it Aunt Amaya’s joke? Did you somehow learn KSL and she accidentally told you everything while thinking you wouldn’t understand?”

Rayla rolled her eyes affectionately. That _definitely_ wasn’t it.

“Was it Soren? He didn’t mean to lie to you about the sweeping the leg class. He just forgot the party was at the same time!”

This time she had to contain her laughter. Soren would do something like that.

“Was it… me?” Rayla’s eyes widened, “Did I- Did I do something wrong? Did I offend you in any way? If it was, I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, Rayla.” His head was hanging low and she could almost hear his thoughts blaming him for her stupid behavior, “Look, if I am the problem, I won’t bother you today or for however long you want. I just want you to have a nice birthday, just like the one you planned for me. I care about you a lot. And…” he shook his head hastily, clearly shoving whatever next words he had away, “Forget it.” He hugged himself, his voice cracking when he said those last words.

She dropped down from the column, directly behind him.

“Ya didn’t do anythin’, ya dumb idiot.” She said, her tongue still aching because of all the crying. He turned to look at her and Rayla could see the small tears glistening the corner of his eyes. He hastily wiped them away and cleared his throat.

“R-Rayla! I was looking for you!”

“I know.”

“D-Did you hear what I just said?”

“The whole thin’.” He cursed under his breath.

“Well, uh- I’m sorry you had to hear all my babbling and-”

“I don’t want to hear yer apologies! I told ya, ya didn’t do anythin’ wrong!” She said, clearly out of patience.

“Well, then… why did you run?” he asked before noticing the state of her face, “Rayla, you were crying-”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“I just want to know why, that’s all, so you can enjoy a proper birthday party.”

“That’s the thin’, Callum! I don’t want to have a birthday party! Or be reminded of my birthday _at all!_ ” She shouted.

“I didn’t know that Rayla, I actually thought you liked them!”

“Why would ya think that?!”

“Because Ethari wrote to me a guide of ‘ _how to make the Perfect Birthday Party for Rayla’_!” He air quoted the last part.

“When did all that happen?”

“Last week, when your most important things arrived from Silvergrove. I spent the whole week preparing for this.” Rayla felt a twinge of guilt at his words. “He made sure to remind me of how happy you always were on your birthday. And I didn’t want to ruin your stay at the castle by messing this up. But something _did_ go wrong. And that’s why you were crying on your birthday.” Once again, Rayla could hear his mind beating himself over this.

He sighed deeply before turning to her.

“Look, I have no right to be mad at you, so I’ll be mad on my own.” He buried his hands on his coat pockets and turned to leave.

“I don’t want to celebrate my birthday because…” her voice cracked, “Because I don’t want to get reminders that last year I still had three of my parents.” She admitted and Callum halted, turning to look at her, “Every year on my birthday, I would get a letter from my parents. They wasted their only letter of the year on me, just to make sure I didn’t feel alone on my birthday. Last year they wrote that they were goin’ to be seein’ me for the first time in almost ten years but-” her voice was cut by a sob.

“They disappeared.” Callum finished the sentence for her and she nodded.

“And the party? Every single thin’ exactly the same as my usual birthdays in Silvergrove? It only reminded me things are probably never goin’ to be the same again. Runaan is dead, I’m still ghosted from my home village. I just- I didn’t want to deal with that. I wanted to avoid how much things had changed.”

Callum raised his hand and caressed her cheek, wiping a stray tear that had just escaped her eye.

“Rayla… I’m sorry, I should’ve asked if you were okay with all that. I overstepped things and didn’t consider how you’d be feeling.” He sighed, not ceasing his caressing of her cheek, “Don’t worry about anything else. I’ll- I’ll talk to everyone. They will understand and no one will even mention it’s your birthday. It will be a normal day and we’ll do normal things.”

Rayla didn’t have time to properly think as he ran towards the dining hall.

* * *

“So, Rayla doesn’t like her birthday? That’s nonsense! Ethari wrote to you she loved the parties he threw for her!” Ezran said.

“It’s way more complicated, Ez.” Callum ran his fingers through his hair impatiently, “Look, it’s not a big deal. We just take all of the decorations off and we can redistribute the pastry to the castle servants so they don’t go to waste.”

“But I still want an explanation.” Ezran set his foot down and Bait croaked in agreement. Callum sighed in annoyance. He should’ve expected something like this. Ezran always took birthday parties and overall celebrations very seriously. More serious than he should, probably. Callum huffed and rolled his eyes at his brother.

“Fine, the thing is that Rayla doesn’t-”

_“Rayla doesn’t want to miss the party.”_

Callum turned and saw Rayla standing on the doorway of the dining room, a smile gracing her lips. She walked towards the two brothers, her demeanor completely different from someone who was just crying a couple of corridors away from here.

“Rayla!” Callum said, his eyes wide in surprise, but his brows furrowed in confusion. “What happened to _‘not wanting to have a party?’”_

“Look, I’ll tell ya later but now,” she turned to face Ezran, “can we enjoy a proper birthday, dear King of Katolis?” Ezran smiled and clapped his hands together.

“HELL YES!”

“King Ezran!” Opeli reprimanded him from the other side of the dining room.

* * *

“Alright,” Callum grabbed Rayla by the hand when she was talking to Soren and brought her to a secluded place in the dining hall, “Can you explain to me what happened?”

“It’s just… ya worked so hard to make this day perfect for me. Ya even got me a moonberry cake!”

“Yeah, we still don’t know the recipe to the moonberry surprise so I had to improvise.”

“It’s still really sweet.” she smiled, “But comin’ back to the topic, the thin’ is, I can’t avoid change. It took me months to get used to livin’ with Ethari and Runaan. But I still did. I can’t just ask ya to avoid celebratin’ my birthday forever because I could only look at the bad side of today. I have to look at the good side too.”

“Which is?”

“I got a birthday party in a castle, the birthday party has a lot of people who care about me and that said birthday party was organized by the best boyfriend in the world~” she said the last part in a sing-song voice, making Callum blush. Without missing a beat, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips, still tasting the remnants of the cake on her lips. “Thank ya for bein’ such an amazin’ boyfriend.” She whispered when they pulled away.

“Thank you for being such an amazing girlfriend.” He said, his smile not vanishing from his face for a single second.

“I love ya.”

“I love you too.” His smile got bigger, “Happy birthday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And… **_done!_**  
>  I have not enough words to thank you all for this experience. I wrote all of these prompts in less than a month (starting on June 10th and finally ending on July 5th) and honestly I couldn’t be more satisfied. Sharing my thoughts with friends, reading their takes on their own prompts, this was amazing. Writing all of this was such a challenge to me, especially the AU prompt since I had to rewrite it three times because I was never truly satisfied with my take on it, but the fun I had during these last 2 months ended up erasing all my bad feelings.  
> I have no words to respond all the support you all gave me, so once again, **thank you so freaking much <3**

**Author's Note:**

> Any feedback and critique is welcome! Comments too!  
> [Say hi to me at tumblr!](https://artfulstar.tumblr.com/)  
> [My **The Dragon Prince** focused sideblog!](https://xadiasecrets.tumblr.com/)  
> [I also have a Ko-fi!](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/zWNnqoF)


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